Only The Beautiful

(Paperback)

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A heartrending story about a young mother's fight to keep her daughter and the winds of fortune that tear them apart, by the USA Today bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things and The Last Year of the War. California, 1938-When she loses her parents in an accident, sixteen-year-old Rosanne is taken in by the owners of the vineyard where she has lived her whole life as the vinedresser's daughter. She moves into Celine and Truman Calvert's spacious house with a secret, however-Rosie sees colours when she hears sound. She promised her mother she'd never reveal her little-understood ability to anyone, but the weight of her isolation and grief proves too much for her. Driven by her loneliness, she not only breaks the vow to her mother, but in a desperate moment lets down her guard and ends up pregnant. Banished by the Calverts, Rosanne believes she is bound for a home for unwed mothers, and having lost her family, she treasures her pregnancy as the chance for a future one. But she soon finds out she is not going to a home of any kind, but to a place far worse than anything she could have imagined. Austria, 1947-After witnessing firsthand Adolf Hitler's brutal pursuit of hereditary purity-especially with regard to "different children"-Helen Calvert is ready to return to America for good. But when she arrives at her brother's peaceful vineyard after decades working abroad, she is shocked to learn what really happened nine years earlier to the vinedresser's daughter, a girl whom Helen had long ago befriended. In her determination to find Rosanne, Helen discovers that while the war was won in Europe, there are still terrifying battles to be fought at home.

Reviews

Praise for Only the Beautiful

Only the Beautiful is an emotional journey of grief, hope, and second chances Meissner pulls no punches in comparing Americas treatment of people with disabilities with the Nazis actions a few years later, leaving the reader with the emphatic message that everyone has a moral obligation to speak out against governments doing horrible things. This one resonates. Historical Novels Review

Susan Meissner is a master of the genre[Only the Beautiful] is set in 1930s California and explores our countrys brief but troubling fascination with eugenics via the story of Helen. San Diego Union-Tribute

"Uncovers the horrors of eugenics movements through the stories of two women in 20th-century America. - PopSugar

The lives of two women intersect in this powerful tale about the love between mothers and daughters. BookBub

Meissner delivers a nuanced and heartbreaking tale; expect to read through tear-filled eyes as the story concludes. Library Journal (starred review)

Meissner unfurls an emotionally rich narrative Readers will be riveted. Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Richly drawn characters and heartbreaking, historically accurate situations combine to make a powerful reading experience. Booklist

Author Bio

Susan Meissner is a former managing editor of a weekly newspaper, and an award-winning columnist. She is the award-winning author of The Nature of Fragile Things, The Last Year of the War, As Bright as Heaven, A Bridge Across the Ocean, Secrets of a Charmed Life, A Fall of Marigolds, and Stars over Sunset Boulevard, among other novels.