‘Triumph over Destiny’: Stories are a worthy, but challenging, read

Knowing that the events recounted in Peladija Woodson-Diers story of her mother's 'Triumph Over Destiny” actually happened under Adolf Hitler's regime during World War II can make reading the memoir hard at times.

The story begins in Austria and takes readers to Germany when Karoline, Woodson-Diers's mother, is forcefully taken from her family by soldiers at age 15.

She was placed in a restaurant in Germany to do forced labor. She lived in a small apartment with another young woman, and fed and cared for even though the work was long and hard. She was eventually granted more freedoms, which enabled her to meet her future husband, Hinrich, a German soldier.

Their romance was quick and survived Hinrich's long deployments during the war. Eventually they married and Karoline was freed. Living on his parents' farm and raising their two daughters helped her forget some of the tragedies of war. But travel restrictions, danger along the roads and fear of bombs kept them in constant fear.

The stories in 'Triumph Over Destiny” are emotional, tragic and horrific. I wondered how Woodson-Diers was able to write them knowing they happened to her mother, father and sisters.

Every time I read a World War II book, I learn something new like how POWs were left to fend for themselves once the war ended. Many were starving, homeless and turned to violence against Germans. Germans like Woodson-Diers's family suffered at the hands of POWs. Atrocities were common for years after the official end of the war.

The book leaves many unanswered questions about the family's assimilation into American culture and life in Iowa. Woodson-Diers, though, says a sequel will be coming.

Though challenging to stomach, the true accounts told in 'Triumph Over Destiny” are a worthy read.

Read The Book

'Triumph Over Destiny” can be found at online retailers in paperback or eBook form or locally at Barnes and Noble, Amana General Store, Laree's The Shoppe of Favorites in Independence, Prairie Lights in Iowa City and the following places in Oelwein: Mercy Hospital (20% of proceeds benefit the hospital), Schuchmann's Pharmacy, Flowers on Main, and Lou Ann's Fabric Shop. The book is also available in many local libraries.

Contact Peladija via her website at TriumphOverDestiny.com.