This is the fifth book I have read by Soraya Lane and she does an amazing job honoring history while creating characters and stories that stick with readers.
There are numerous, horrible things that occurred during WWII but one that never crossed my mind was unborn babies. Imagine a pregnant woman living in a concentration camp and having your child born into such deplorable conditions, where you have no way to protect or care for them. Some of these pregnant women were promised better conditions and more food if they came forward - only to be studied and experimented on by the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele or other SS physicians.
One of the main characters is Emilia, a midwife from a small town in Poland. Emilia is committed to helping everyone, including delivering Jewish babies and helping to smuggle these babies to safety. Our other main character is Alesky, a doctor, who is trying to keep his town safe from the Nazis by leading them to believe his town is in the midst of a typhus outbreak and helping any injured resistance members. Because of their behavior, Emilia and Alesky end up in Auschwitz. Together, they do what they can to protect and care for as many of their fellow prisoners while risking their own lives.
This is an emotional, heartbreaking read steeped in factual events. Despite being such a difficult subject matter, it truly honors the brave individuals who did the right thing despite the threat of harm, injury or even death. This is a must read!!!!!

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for this advance reader’s copy of The Secret Midwife by Soraya Lane in exchange for a honest review..This is a book that you won’t be able to put down- full of action, drama, heart-gripping and a true tearjerker. This is the story of Emilia a young midwife that is sent to Auschwitz when she is caught helping Jewish mothers smuggle their babies out of Poland.At Auschwitz she is met with the most unhygienic, unsanitary conditions as she tries to help young mothers deliver their babies where many are met with certain death .With the help of an obstetrician, Aleksy, she helps many women who are pregnant with Nazi soldiers’ babies terminate their pregnancies.She risks her life many times for her patients.She befriends one of these pregnant women, Lena, who has endured many brutalities at the hands of the Nazis.Told in 2 time frames- the past in Auschwitz and in 1995 when Emilia identifies herself when ,as the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz approaches, the news seeks a midwife who helped save lives.To her family and the world she finally tells her story but does the journalist interviewing Emilia have a personal connection.? Read the story and find out.Highly recommend.

Another phenomenal novel by Soraya M. Lane. The minute I read the blurb I knew I had to request this, as the other novels I have read have been excellent.
The prologue and first two chapters are the perfect set up for an amazing novel telling a sad but interesting story.
The best thing about this book is that it is inspired by the lives of some incredible people such as Irene Sendler.
The book tells the story of non Jewish people who were sent to Auschwitz due to helping Jewish people during World War II.
Another topic that this book delved into, and one I had not known about was the pregnancy terminations carried out secretly inside the camp to save the lives of the women and to prevent them being used for experiments.
This book is brutal, honest and a must read.

We meet main character Emilia, who 50 years after the awful Holocaust, she decides to tell her story. And what a story it is.

Emilia is a midwife and a prisoner of Auschwitz, whilst a prisoner there she is asked to help out with the pregnant prisoners and she does so amazingly and with compassion.

Emilia is a brave woman and such a strong character. This novel was interesting, heart-breaking and well written all at the same time. The author gives great details in this novel and it really is quite eye-opening to read.

The Secret Midwife was so hard to read at some points in the novel but Soraya M. Lane tells the story amazingly well and it really held my attention.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This amazing story is based on factual event. It begins with a midwife taking care of her ladies in the difficult days of WW2 in Poland. This courageous lady refuses to let her Jewish clients give birth alone and knows the great risks she is taking. One evening she is called out during the night to a Jewish mother and well, it doesn't end well for anyone involved and leads to Emilia being sent to Auschwitz. Soraya describes the brutality of it all. She shares the emotional lows in a way which leaves us with no doubt who is to blame for the cruelty and the violence.
True to her character, Emilia is in the camp less than 24 hours when she takes a stand against the horrors. Her life is saved only because of the intervention of a compassionate doctor, whose own story of character is told too.
These two hero's then come together to do what they can to save lives and treat the women in their care with dignity and respect in the unbelievably terrible circumstances.
Don't forget you box of hankies as you read. But stick with it through the horror and the hardships and get to the end you won't be disappointed.
Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and Netgalley for the arc and to Soraya for telling the story so well. These are my own thoughts and they have been freely given.

I visited Auschwitz and Birkenau on a sunny day in March 2023, but the feelings and emotions I experienced that day will remain with me for the rest of my life. Reading this book was very reminiscent of my visit, I saw the hospital blocks and the living quarters and the crematorium. I walked in their footsteps and cried, just as I did throughout reading this wonderful novel, a work of fiction but based on the facts we now know of real people who risked everything to save the lives of others. Novels and books like this are such an important way of keeping history and the past alive. We should never forget the atrocities suffered. But this story, although harrowing and sad also proves to us that however desperate our lives seem there is always hope, for without it what do we have.
This fictional story writes about Emilia, a Midwife, Aleksy, a Doctor and their struggle to help the many sick and pregnant women in the concentration camp.
I'm not ashamed to say I cried many tears reading this and I only wish I could give more than 5 stars.

Loved this i was gripped from start to finish as Soraya Lane always writes such excellent stories the readers will love it 5*

Thought-provoking, gut wrenching and warm all in one!

Inspired by real-life events during the second world war including the horrifying conditions of the concentration camp in Auschwitz, Lane has created a truly gripping story showing the strength of many unsung heros, and in this case especially a dedicated midwife Emilia and doctor Aleksy.

The story is told partly based in London in 1995 and partly in the occupied Poland in 1942. The two story lines are beautifully woven together to one very strong and emotional plot.

The war is raging and Poland is occupied by the Germans. Working as a midwife Emilia is allowed to move around a bit more freely than others in her village. To her, a mother is a mother no matter what religious background they may have and as such she's putting herself in constant danger visiting also the many hidden Jewish families.

All is going well, until it isn't. Betrayal is the worst and she is suddenly on a packed train straight to Auschwitz. Due to her occupation she one of the "lucky ones" who isn't instantly sent to the shower block. During her time in the camp she's trying to make life a little bit better for the pregnant women.

True historic facts are crucial, but I think that it's with stories like this one and others inspired by the true events, that we are more likely to remember the past!

London, 1995: When on the fiftieth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz a news broadcast runs an appeal for information on the identity of a midwife who saved hundreds of lives, Emilia knows it is time to finally tell her story.

Occupied Poland, 1942: Despite the constant presence of German soldiers in her village, Emilia is allowed certain freedoms as a midwife―the most precious is innocently cycling past Nazi checkpoints to the homes of expectant mothers on her rounds. But Emilia has a secret: for years she’s also been visiting the hidden Jewish mothers and working for the resistance…until she is betrayed.

Suddenly a prisoner of Auschwitz, Emilia is surrounded by horror and despair. When she is put to work as a midwife in the camp, she realises that she has a chance to bring a small glimmer of hope to the pregnant women of Auschwitz. Alongside a brave imprisoned doctor, Aleksy, and an innocent outcast, Lena, she comes up with a dangerous plan. A plan that if discovered could mean a fate far worse than death, but if they act undetected, they could save countless lives…


An intense read that will stay with you long after you finish the story. Emilia, Aleksy, and Lena are characters that you will never forget about. Will recommend to others.

The story is told by Emilia in 1995 on the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz the prisoner of war camp.
As Emilia relives her untold story of the horrors she witnessed and lived through as a midwife in the camp in 1942 until liberation, she is unaware of the person who she is retelling her story too, her friends baby girl that had been saved with a tattoo allowing identification in the future.

At times I had to put the book down as I was becoming so distraught with the description of the violence that the prisoners had to endure.

A great great but also distressing!

I was given access to this book before it’s published on August 1st thanks to Net Galley. I am especially drawn to stories set during WW2, and I love books about midwives too. Emilia is a Polish woman who is sent to Auschwitz for helping to deliver and smuggle Jewish babies to safety. Once there, she continues working as a midwife while also secretly saving hundreds of babies and their mothers, along with the help of a prisoner doctor Aleksy. Together, they put secret hidden tattoos on the non-Jewish babies so that they may one day be able to reunite with their mothers after being given to Nazi families. Emilia is finally ready to tell the story she’s kept to herself on the 50th anniversary of Auschwitz’s liberation. I became completely immersed in this story immediately. It’s definitely a heavy book and many parts were difficult and emotional to read, but the characters’ bravery was inspiring (and they were based on real people). A very compelling, heartbreaking, moving, and ultimately hopeful read.

The stories of the horrors of Auschwitz will always haunt me. This story is especially sad and heartbreaking, but also demonstrates the courage that some men and women had when faced with horrific situations. Fans of WWII fiction will be inspired by the heroes in this story.

I'm still not over this story. I never really questioned what happened to mothers or mothers-to-be during this time in Auschwitz. Now I know. It's a part of our history and important to know about it.
Because it is part of our history some scenes are very brutal and the whole atmosphere is very sad.

I can only recommend this book.

A midwife strives to help pregnant women in Poland. The book dives into the trauma created by the Nazis in WW2 and the effects on the thousands of people sent to Auschwitz. Moving and emotional.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.

This was such a powerful, vividly written book. I think that in general, books based on the Holocaust are quite daunting and the amount of research the author has put into writing this books makes it all the more difficult to read although it remained gripping throughout.

There were several unexpected twists throughout the story and I became so emotionally invested in the characters and the horrors which they faced.

Really well written, I’d recommend this book but it is a harrowing read.

Inspired by true accounts of the Polish resistance, author Soraya Lane explores the experiences of those brave doctors, nurses and midwives who were imprisoned in camps during WW2.

A fan of Lane’s work, I knew I”d be in for a thought-provoking read based on heaps of research and laced with true accounts. Not only is this another 5-star read, but it is also sensitively written and balances hope with the horrors.

In short, this story is about brave souls doing what they can under impossible circumstances. You’ll read a compelling account from a 95-year-old woman who recounts her role as a midwife during WW2. This tale is supported by a doctor who lost everything in his quest to help Jews and then rounded out with stories of life behind the gates of Auschwitz.

Lane allows readers inside the head of an ordinary person, swept off the streets of her hometown, imprisoned in Auschwitz and forced to deliver babies in such unthinkable conditions. We see the constant battle both the midwife and the birthing mothers fought - shame at experiencing fleeting moments of happiness bombarded with the stark reality of death. The interplay between preservation, the ray of hope, and the daily struggle to survive left me breathless and in tears many times. I appreciated the multi perspectives (tattooist, doctor and prisoner) and thought they brought depth to the story.

Never, ever discount the effects of a single person doing what they can under extreme circumstances.

I was gifted this copy by Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

The Secret Midwife is a beautifully, written novel, of a woman doing her best to save and unite mothers and children in the darkest of times. An unforgettable story set during the Holocaust. Authored respectfully of hope, survival, strength, courage, determination, friendship and love. This gripping novel pulls at so many emotions with a heartwarming ending.
I would like to thank Lake Union Publishing, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this complimentary copy for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

4.5⭐ rounded up to a 5

This is my first book by Soraya M. Lane and from the first chapter, I was hooked and didn't want to put it down. She managed to tell a heartbreaking story inspired by real events, that held some hope and humanity.

Emilia, a midwife, is caught helping Jewish mothers deliver their babies during the war. She is taken to Auschwitz and is immediately exposed to horrors she couldn't have imagined before.

Aleksy, a doctor, is caught helping the resistance during the war after creating a fake typhus outbreak in his town to keep the German away. He is also sent to Auschwitz where he is tasked with helping the sick and delivering babies. When Emilia first arrives, he saves her life and they form a friendship amid the hardships.

The feared Doctor Mengele is mentioned in this book, he likes to experiment on pregnant women and twins and tasks them both with alerting him to any pregnancies in the camp.

Thanks to @netgalley for an eARC copy to review.

This is yet another wonderful story of war and the affects it has had on people and I just can't get enough of this style of book.

This is a story of a midwife, a woman who was betrayed, a woman who above all else helps other. I loved the flow of the story, from 1995 were an anniversary news story searches for a midwife from Auschwitz and therefore follows on with the story of this courageous woman, Emilia. It is a strong story and a book I just couldn't put down.

I love the characters, how brave they were and how they brought hope to women and people in the camp. It is such a well written book that it gets into your head and your heart and I think it will be some time before I can get this one out of my head.

This is definitely a WOW book and a book I highly recommend, it is a book that will give you hope but will bring some sadness. It is emotional, heart-wrenching and so very real!

Thank you NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

An old woman is interviewed in 1995 for the role she played during WW2. She was a midwife and helped save babies along with a kind hearted doctor who lost his family because he helped Jews.