The Sweetness of Forgetting

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In this beautifully complex classic, a woman embarks on a journey from Cape Cod to Paris to uncover a family secret for her ailing grandmother that could change everything. At thirty-six, Hope McKenna-Smith faces numerous challenges: the loss of her mother to cancer, a divorce, and a struggling bakery while raising a troubled preteen. As her beloved French grandmother, Mamie, succumbs to Alzheimer's, she has a rare moment of clarity and reveals tantalizing snippets of a tragic history from WWII Paris. With a scrawled list of names, Hope travels to France to unravel a seventy-year-old mystery. The story unfolds as an immersive tale of generations fighting to survive, with Hope piecing together her grandmother's past. She uncovers horrific stories of the Holocaust, revealing her grandmother's extraordinary resilience in a chaotic world. To reunite two lovers separated by terror, Hope will need a dash of courage and the belief that God exists everywhere, even in cake. This 10th anniversary edition includes a new author's note and recipes, enriching the experience of this evocative narrative.