The Sweetness of Forgetting: A Book Club Recommendation!

At thirty-six, Hope McKenna-Smith faces multiple hardships: her mother died of cancer, her husband left her, and her bank account is nearly empty. She runs a failing family bakery on Cape Cod while raising a troubled preteen, having abandoned her dreams of becoming a lawyer. Her French-born grandmother Mamie is declining from Alzheimer's disease. In a moment of clarity, Mamie reveals fragments of a tragic history from WWII Paris and gives Hope a list of names. Hope travels from Cape Cod to Paris to investigate a seventy-year-old family mystery. As she uncovers her grandmother's past, she discovers stories connected to the Holocaust and learns about her grandmother's resilience during that period. The novel follows Hope's efforts to piece together these hidden family secrets and understand her grandmother's experiences. This 10th anniversary edition includes a new author's note and recipes.