My guest today on What Cathy Read Next is author Rachel Healey whose debut novel, Our Silent Footsteps, was published on 5th February 2024. Our Silent Footsteps is described as ‘a love story transcending the trauma of war’ and is based on the true story of Mary, an Egyptian Copt and Jozef, a Polish Jew. I hope once you’ve read Rachel’s fascinating answers to my questions, including her motivation for writing the book, you’ll be tempted to pick up a copy.
About the Book
They say that to really know a person you need to understand their past. If that is true, then Mary Beker did not know her husband, Jozef, at all…
Warsaw, 2005. An elderly Mary is searching for clues regarding her late husband’s pre-war life: the first wife and children he had to leave behind; the siblings who vanished. There’s a danger the answers she finds could ruin the memory of the man she adored, memories of their time together.
When unravelling his past causes her to revisit uncomfortable memories of her own, Mary must reach a new understanding of the events that brought them together.
Find Our Silent Footsteps on Goodreads
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Q&A with Rachel Healey, author of Our Silent Foosteps
Q. Welcome, Rachel. Our Silent Footsteps is based on true events. How did you first come across the story of Mary and Jozef?
A. I came across their story a few years ago when I was asked by the family to document Mary’s memoirs. Jozef had died in 1960 and Mary was in the last weeks of her life. The family didn’t want Mary’s memories of the extraordinary life she and Jozef led to be forgotten.
Q. What was it about their story that made you want to write a novel about it?
A. When I first started interviewing Mary about her life, she was understandably very guarded but as soon as I mentioned Jozef, her eyes lit up. The bond they shared was still as strong 50 years after his death as it was on their wedding day. But I found it fascinating that she still knew very little about his life before they met. In all the time they’d spent together, she’d never wanted to ask. In the world within which we now live, we are so accustomed to people posting often intimate details of their lives across social media it called to mind the question: do we need to know everything about those we hold close in order to maintain a close relationship?
Q. You’ve described the book as dealing with ‘difficult’ subjects such as persecution, prejudice and poverty. What makes them ‘difficult’ and what challenges did this pose when writing the book?
A. The fact that the book is based on real events sometimes makes for difficult reading. Mary grew up in Egypt in the 1920s in the minority Coptic faith. When her father died suddenly at a young age, Mary’s mother had no rights to her husband’s wealth and business. The young family were catapulted into poverty. These hardships went someway in shaping Mary’s strong determination in life. She chose a career in nursing against her family’s wishes (at that time, nurses were considered as little more than prostitutes in Egyptian culture) and made a life for herself in England, miles from home, despite being subjected to racism due to the colour of her skin. To put myself in Mary’s shoes and try to imagine how her life had evolved and the ways she dealt with the prejudices associated with her gender in Egypt and then racism in post-war Britain was a challenge.
I found Jozef’s story particularly difficult to write in that, a few aspects of what had happened to him prior to 1943 remained elusive. Mary had found a lot of information whilst journeying to his country of birth, Poland, but details such as what his first wife, Rozia, was like in terms of character were lost with Jozef’s death long ago. As a parent myself, I also found it incredibly emotional to put into words the details of the effects of the Holocaust on Jozef’s young family. When I completed the first draft of the book, I must admit to shedding a tear or two…
Q. You’re a historian by profession. In what way has this influenced how you approach writing fiction?
A. In Our Silent Footsteps I chose to write Mary and Jozef’s story as a work of historical fiction in order to get close to the characters. However, I also chose to weave the seismic events of the twentieth century into the narrative as I felt it important to show how these world events shaped individual lives.
The horror of the Holocaust is well-documented but how well known in popular culture is the treatment of the Poles at the hands of the Russians even after the Russians changed sides? Similarly, how much is really understood about the challenges faced by women within a culture such as the one that prevailed in Egypt in the first half of the twentieth century?
I think we are also only now beginning to understand the problems for refugees settling in post-war Britain. As a historian, I wanted to bring these facts to the reader’s attention in a tangible way. I undertook a lot of research in the making of this book which is probably due to my love of history.
Q. Our Silent Footsteps is your debut novel. Based on your experience, what tips would you offer other first time writers?
A. Believe in yourself and never underestimate the importance of editing your work! There’s nothing worse for a reader to find themselves jolted out of a story because of a small thing like a spelling error!
Q. What are you working on next?
A. I currently run a memoir writing service, Pages Of My Life, so I am always on the lookout for the next potential manuscript! I am also fascinated by the years succeeding World War Two and how life returned to ‘normal’ after so many years of upheaval for so many people. In that respect, I am currently working on a new work of fiction that looks at the lives of a group of individuals in the months and years from 1945 onwards.
About the Author
Rachel is passionate about history, having worked at both Windsor Castle and English Heritage. She now lives in Berkshire running her own memoir writing business, preserving family stories for subsequent generations. She feels spoilt by the beautiful countryside on her doorstep and when she is not writing, she spends her time trying to wear out her energetic dog and two kids.
Connect with Rachel
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