Chilling Tale of Family Fleeing Nazi Regime

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Ralph Webster

North Carolina Outer Banks author Ralph Webster tells a stirring story of courage and endurance in his first book, A Smile in One Eye: a Tear in the Other. Under the brutal Nazi regime, the Wobser family – Jewish by blood, Lutheran by choice – struggle to survive. The Third Reich is rising. And in Nazi Germany, they have the wrong blood. Ten percent of the net profits from his book over the next 12 months will be donated to UNHCR – the United Nations Refugee Agency.

One Goodreads reviewer writes “I read this book in two all-night binges. I could not put it down, it was so compelling. The emotional journey of the Wobser family from post-World War I Germany, through the Holocaust and beyond is gut-wrenching, touching, funny and relevant – all at the same time.”

Another writes “What a beautifully-written, touching story. I found this book deeply compelling, with themes that resonate so closely with the struggles we’re facing today. ‘A Smile in One Eye: a Tear in the Other’ traces one family’s journey from a comfortable, privileged life to one where they are forced into becoming refugees at the onset of World War II.”

Webster became intrigued with telling his family’s journey to the United States as he and his wife hiked across mainland Europe in 2015. Often traveling by train, they saw many refugees from Syria and Afghanistan streaming across the continent in search of safety and security. They watched this crisis unfold, witnessing a silent procession of people in search of a new life. His book “A Smile in One Eye: a Tear in the Other” is an historical novel based on a true story.