The Occupied Garden: A Family Memoir of War-Torn Holland

Set against the great tapestry of the Second World War, The Occupied Garden is the haunting and inspiring story of a young family's struggle to survive the tyranny of the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Gerrit is a market gardener, and together with his wife Cor, they do their best to navigate a world turned upside down, and a harrowing period of intimidation, disappearances, starvation and bombings. After liberation, the family immigrates to Canada, rarely speaking of the tumultuous years that changed their lives forever.



Long after Cor and Gerrit's deaths, their granddaughters grew curious about those experiences, and using letters, photographs, documents and interviews, explored a fascinating and horrible time. The result is this book: a meticulously stitched tale, and an intimate re-telling of an ordinary family's courage and resilience.