title: Schicksal
author: Jackson, Merima
description: Reine is born during the chaos of World War I. She grows up in Germany unaware of the political struggles that surround her family. It seems her life is orchestrated by a dark, unseen hand. Repeatedly she struggles with tragedy and an insatiable need for love. In a Yugoslavian town, Stefan is raised among Jews, Muslim, and Orthodox Serbs who happily coexist despite their cultural differences. As he matures into adulthood, Stefan eagerly learns about the world around him, driven by a natural curiosity.
  After Reine enters womanhood and becomes a nurse, she lives a cautious life until a Nazi soldier captures her heart amid increasing unrest in the world. Stefan, who is now an optimistic member of the Royal Yugoslav Army, soon finds himself in the midst of an escalating war, his charmed life unraveling as the Germans march almost unhindered into his homeland. As Reine and Stefan face heartache, uncertainty, and the daunting task of rebuilding, each bravely moves forward through travail to rebuild their lives and find a destiny that may just include each other.
  In this historical novel based on true events, a Serbian soldier and a German nurse test the resilience of the human spirit, love, forgiveness, and hope for the future as World War II ravages Europe.