Book Reviews

Reader Reviews

A Garland For Ashes won the 2014 Writers Digest Self-Published Book Award. Click to read the Judge’s Commentary On A Garland For Ashes.

“When I read your book I could hardly put it down. I was deeply moved and cried a lot. I so much like the photo of you two on the front cover of the book. It expresses volumes . . . Hanna, you are feeling completely safe in George’s arms and George’s tenderness and love towards you.

I am also so thankful for the individual  photos of your parents, what at treasure!

Your husband and  friends have walked with you through the deep valleys into the light of forgiveness – with the Lord right beside you.

I just found out that your book has come out in the German language. It will be a great blessing to all who read my language.”

— a German writing from India

“I first read the kindle edition of this book on a long bus ride, and the power of forgiveness in Hanna’s story evoked tears. Through seasons of painful separation, feelings of abandonment, and a quest for identity, God’s redemptive presence is evident in her life. I applaud Hanna’s bravery in reconciling with her past, and I am thankful that she invited us into the personal details of her journey.”

— Candace

“There are many different ways I could describe A Garland for Ashes. The one word that best describes this book’s impact on me is “precious”. Precious daughter. Precious parents. Precious memories. Precious Jewish heritage. Precious friends. Precious journey toward truth and closure. Precious forgiveness. Precious restoration. Precious Heavenly Father! Thank you for allowing me to take this journey with you. It is a remarkable story. I bless you and George with all that God has for you in the next years!”

— Nancy

“I just finished Hanna’s book. It was really good…hard to read…but good.

Her story leaves me with a deep longing that Christ will make straight the crooked paths…almost like the book isn’t finished, the story isn’t over.

Also, I’m struck by her ability to see divine guidance in the smallest, seemingly most insignificant details. She reminds me of you in this respect. An ability to expect to see God’s hand. “

— A son writes to his mother after reading A Garland for Ashes

“I found Hanna Miley’s book so encouraging, and beautifully told. Hers is a fascinating story, and just… rich. I still find myself reflecting on various details of her journey and all the Lord did.

Certain authors have been particularly meaningful for me over the years; I would put her story alongside Corrie ten Boom in terms of a gentle but very powerful testimony of the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness. I consider Hanna’s book a classic already.”

— From Austin, Texas

“I found the book very moving, engaging and also well-written and thrilling (if I may say so). I was very touched by being able to share your journey to reclaim your history and that of your parents and family.”

— Ursula, historian and researcher in Köln

“I have read many books, visited museums, and watched movies about that period of time and the horrible things that happened to the Jewish people, but never more moved than by your story.”

— From Richmond, Virginia

“I just finished reading through A Garland for Ashes, and my eyes are still moist with tears.

In the interest of full disclosure, I know Hanna and her story, and even make a brief appearance in the book. So perhaps I am biased.

However, I also know great literature. I attended St. John’s College, where for four years I read the great books of western civilization. One thing I became convinced of was that many of these books came to be considered great, because the author was able to unfold for the reader what it was like to be an ordinary human being – even in the midst of history-changing events.

Hanna succeeds in just this way. This book is as much about her as about the Holocaust. She has researched her own heart, feelings, and thoughts as carefully as she has researched the history of the Rzuchowski Forest. And she shows us what it is to emerge triumphant through the power of reconciliation, when facing the evil within as well as the evil without.

Thank you, Hanna, for this gift to the world.”

— Thomas Cogdell

“This afternoon I sat down and started reading your book. I am emotionally glued to it. Having walked part of your journey with you I must tell you that it is beautifully written. There is an amazing tone of grace and beauty that is spread over the pages. All I can say for now is that I pray that your story will bring peace and forgiveness to many.”

— Mary

“I just now finished reading Hanna’s book, and all I can say is – thank you for sharing your story. My heart is touched. My soul is moved. Thank you both for helping me see the love and power of God in and through you.”

— Bob

“About 15 years ago you gave a collage workshop at a women’s retreat. I remember the collage you shared with us. A fine gold thread ran through the picture, representing the work and presence of God in your story. I see the gold thread again in A Garland for Ashes. It leaves me sensing an unspoken mystery, a beauty that leaves me marveling at God and His activity in our lives.”

— From the USA

“A Garland for Ashes, was in the post yesterday and we could not resist the temptation to read it that evening for a couple of hours. Hanna Zack Miley, you are an amazing communicator. You not only tell us facts but also the impact, the feelings…. I was often in tears.”

— An Indian man writes from the UK

”Your book is elegant in presentation and powerful in prose.  I have already lent it to a friend….”

— Published author

“…this tremendous book spoke to me and impacted me very deeply….it does not gloss over the difficult parts and does not offer easy solutions…”

— German business owner living in the UK

“Just received a copy of  A Garland for Ashes via Amazon. Even before reading a page we both have been touched by the choice of cover photos and art. So thoughtful and inspiring! We are both looking forward to reading it.”

— From Atlanta, Georgia

“We have started reading, every page is soaked with your gentleness and grace! It’s the kind of book you don’t want to read in one go …I look forward to the next pages.”

— From Berlin

“Finished reading your book a couple of weeks ago and was very moved indeed but also speechless in a way. God enabled you to share with grace and mercy…..that is what He Himself is like. Yet the truth of evil can and should not be denied or belittled and you communicated that as well. Thank you for sharing so openly and honestly.”

— A Swedish Canadian

“I’m not quite halfway through the book. It’s a slow read for me, not because it is not interesting, quite the contrary! I am absorbed with your feelings, your fear, your bravery and intrigued in the timing of your writing. God has led you….”

— JT

“I am pondering anew the importance of forgiveness.”

— A Counsellor and Spiritual Director

“I read this book at the recommendation of a friend. I first heard of George and Hanna Miley 30 years ago but have never had the opportunity to meet them. My expectation was that it would be a record of an interesting life but not likely to be very well written. I couldn’t have been more wrong. From the first chapter, I realized that this book was a treasure. Hanna brought me along on her journey beautifully combining her search with her story. Every word is carefully chosen. Like an artist, Hanna combines the right amount of feeling, story, memory, description and facts to draw me into her journey and touch my heart.”

— Jemmog

Incredible journey and you are there for every heart wrenching step. This book should be read by everyone. I will remember this story forever.

— Janet Oneal

I found Hanna Miley’s book deeply moving, encouraging, and beautifully told. Hers is a fascinating story, and just… rich. I still find myself reflecting on various details of her journey and the work of redemption and forgiveness in her life. Certain authors have been particularly meaningful for me over the years; I would put her story alongside Corrie tenGod Boom in terms of a gentle but very powerful testimony of the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness. I consider Hanna’s book a classic already.

— Debbie

This was an amazing story. The author does a beautiful job sharing her life; transported to England from Germany with the rescue of Jewish children, her growing years in England, then a trip in her 70’s with her cherished husband to follow the path her parents were forced to travel as Hitler and all he ruled over brought the end to so many lives. She gives heartfelt testimony to her sadness but incredible healing journey. Her extensive research (well documented) and detail were impressive. History lovers will appreciate this great book.

— Deblin5

I have had this book on my Kindle for quite awhile. I finally decided I’d read it. Once I started, it was hard to put it down. When I read books about the Holocaust, it breaks my heart. My husband is a Messianic Jew also. Thankfully, his grandparents came to the US before WW1 but they had over 20 family members who died in the Holocaust. Many were from the Minsk area and while reading this I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to them. I loved how Hanna memorialized her parents!

— Linda

Very well-written memoir of beginning life as a Jew in Germany during World War II. At the age of seven, Hanna was sent to safety on the kindertrain. Growing up disconnected from her past with a carefully closed heart, Hanna never fully grieved her family’s death until she was in her 70’s.

This then is her memoir of Nazi Germany, adjusting to English life, and her decision to find the truth about her family’s deaths, and follow her parents’ journey from their home in Germany to Chelmno.

Sometimes time doesn’t heal, but there is still hope. Hanna has beautifully expressed her journey of reconciliation, healing, and forgiveness. While some World War II memoirs are almost unbearably heavy (and how could they not be?) Hanna’s, though at time painful, is laced with a golden cord of hope and healing.

— Jennifer

Cannot express what this child went through. I will only say she grew up to be a kind intelligent person who was able to finally obtain peace.

— Richard Garrison

A Garland for Ashes is at once timely and timeless. Not only is the story itself compelling, but Hanna’s honest, visceral and intimate examination of her life is both endearing and heart breaking. Hanna takes the reader with her on a journey to examine and unpack a life marked with deep wounds, confusion, and desire for belonging. She approaches the reality of her early life, her escape from Nazi Germany on the kindertransport, and the loss of her family with courageous candor, letting the reader in on moments of vulnerable self-reflection throughout. A Garland for Ashes encapsulates the story of one life while also managing to capture the darkness and loss that is so common to the human experience. While there are many moving stories about hurt and loss there are far fewer about the transformative power of forgiveness and faith. Hanna’s journey to reconciliation is the story our culture needs, and an exhortation humanity will always need. In a world that only knows to meet hurt with long-held bitterness or to brush it away with an “it’s okay”, Hanna’s work toward radical forgiveness of the movement that stripped her of home, family and identity is nothing less than seismic. A Garland for Ashes is a compelling testament to how the Lord makes all things beautiful in his time and is a blessing to those who encounter its pages.

—Kaitlin Gilmore | Dean of Students, Veritas Preparatory Academy