A little about the book.

Each time I read personal accounts of those who were affected by war, destruction and loss of their families my heart breaks. But Lydia Weber defied all odds and stood up for her rights and those of others during this tumultuous time.

Author Edna Thayer gives readers a highlight of Lydia's life through various stories told by Lydia or her close friends. One can tell through the author's words that Lydia had an impact on all she met that left a long-lasting impression.

When Lydia was 14-years-old, the German government required all girls to live with families that were selected by the government to develop their skills in cooking, cleaning and keeping house. On the same note, boys were to live and work on farms. It was during this time that Hitler was well received by the Germans; no one had a clue about what was to come. When war did come, Lydia wrote to many soldiers to help boost their morale. Given that Lydia was a natural born flirt she told the soldiers she would be waiting for them when they came home.

In 1945 Lydia met her husband, John Ross, an American soldier who was stationed in Germany. She initially met him when she was applying for a job-but he would not accept non-married women. Leaving rejected, Lydia knew she would marry that soldier. However, little did Lydia know she was pregnant or that John would marry her? John was returned to the US where he would have to deal with red tape to get his wife and baby there. Thinking he had put money aside, he realized that his mother had used it all for her own pleasures. Lydia traveled to the US on a troop ship and was anxious about what she would encounter once in the states. What she found was no electricity, no running water, and no bathroom, so she decided to try to get a loan to get a house of their own.

This true story of a German war bride and her small town Minnesota husband grips the reader with harrowing tales of war, economic struggles, suffering, and courage. Its heroine was only seventeen when American planes bombed the munitions factory where she worked. She survived the fiery explosion because she had skipped work that day to go on a picnic. The first time John Ross met her (and refused her a job with his American artillery supply unit), he knew he would marry this bold dark-eyed fraulein.

Lydia's handsome grandson drew the exquisite cover portrait of Lydia and John on their wedding day. John looks dazzled, as if he were the luckiest guy in the whole army. Lydia looks into the distance pensively, as if she senses the daunting struggles ahead. She wears the shy but determined smile of a survivor.

That same year, Lydia could have died from a childbirth infection after their first and only baby was born. When she and the baby could finally join John in Minnesota, she discovered that all the money he had sent home during his four years in the service had disappeared. The young couple had no choice but to live with his parents on an isolated farm with no running water, no electricity, no plumbing, no telephone, no sheets, and no privacy.

Despite speaking little English, within two years, Lydia had managed to convince the local banker to give her a loan for a down payment on a house in town. That was just the first in a series of psychologically shrewd and financially courageous initiatives that would eventually result in her and John owning a home on a Minnesota lake, where for 32 years, the book's author, Edna Thayer, was their neighbor.

In addition to the many firsthand stories Thayer heard from Lydia and John, this beautifully-illustrated book features photos from almost every stage of Lydia's life, memories from friends and family members, thoughtful quotes before each chapter, maps, and even Lydias recipe for her famous German potato salad.

I loved learning about this inspiring, gritty, smart, opinionated, funny woman. Her resourcefulness and cheerfulness are an inspiration. Feisty Lydia is an outstanding book about a remarkable American immigrant.