Nina Willner's Blog
April 25, 2018
Forty Autumns
Forty Autumns (HarperCollins William Morrow) is a true story of escape, those that remained behind the Iron Curtain and an American spy mission into the heart of Soviet territory.
Internationally acclaimed for its narrative nonfiction storytelling, and praised for its "enduring resilience of the human spirit," Forty Autumns is the powerful and inspiring story of Willner's family divided by the Iron Curtain for more than forty years.
Forty Autumns follows Willner's mother's solo escape as a young girl from communist East Germany, those left behind, and their four decade journey to find one another again. Cast in real life Cold War espionage intrigue, the story takes an unexpected turn when, at age 22, author Nina Willner is sent back into the country her mother fled to run secret American intelligence missions against the Soviets in East Berlin.
"15 Best Non-Fiction Books of 2016" - CSMonitor
"Epic." - Publishers Weekly
"Excellent and intriguing." -- Library Journal (Starred Review)
"Poignant, engrossing, harrowing." - Kirkus Reviews
"41 Best Memoirs of All Time" - The Book Authority
Nina currently lives in Washington DC and is working on her next narrative nonfiction.
Internationally acclaimed for its narrative nonfiction storytelling, and praised for its "enduring resilience of the human spirit," Forty Autumns is the powerful and inspiring story of Willner's family divided by the Iron Curtain for more than forty years.
Forty Autumns follows Willner's mother's solo escape as a young girl from communist East Germany, those left behind, and their four decade journey to find one another again. Cast in real life Cold War espionage intrigue, the story takes an unexpected turn when, at age 22, author Nina Willner is sent back into the country her mother fled to run secret American intelligence missions against the Soviets in East Berlin.
"15 Best Non-Fiction Books of 2016" - CSMonitor
"Epic." - Publishers Weekly
"Excellent and intriguing." -- Library Journal (Starred Review)
"Poignant, engrossing, harrowing." - Kirkus Reviews
"41 Best Memoirs of All Time" - The Book Authority
Nina currently lives in Washington DC and is working on her next narrative nonfiction.
