Refusing to leave her parents and her sister behind, Lenka stays with them in Czechoslovakia to face the uncertainty of life for Jews during WWII. Lenka’s new husband, Josef, leaves for the safety of America without her. Lenka receives news that the ship carrying Josef was torpedoed by a German U-boat and Josef is dead. Unbeknownst to Lenka, however, Josef lives and is searching for her. Lenka and her family are first sent to live and work in Terezin (a Jewish ghetto) and then to Auschwitz. Josef is mistakenly told Lenka was killed in the gas chamber at Auschwitz. Each thinking the other is dead, Josef and Lenka carve out an existence without each other after the war. A chance encounter reunites them nearly 60 years later. The Lost Wife is a touching work of fiction based on real experiences of Jews sent to Terezin during WWII. I truly enjoyed this book.