The Dream Stitcher

By: Deborah Gaal

Narrated by: Deborah Gaal

Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

The Dream Stitcher’s story moves eloquently between two time periods and places, America in 2008 and World War II Poland.

Hard times are forcing Maude Fields to take in her estranged mother, Bea, whose secrets date to World War II. Bea arrives with a hand-embroidered recreation of La Tapisserie de la Reine Mathilde, the iconic 11th century Bayeux Tapestry. The replica contains clues to the identity of Maude’s father and the mythical Dream Stitcher, Goldye, a Jewish freedom fighter who helped launch the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

With the help of her pregnant daughter Rosie, Maude is determined to unravel decades of family deception to learn the truth about her parentage.

With Poland on the brink of invasion by Nazi Germany, Goldye discovers — with the guidance of imaginary friend Queen Mathilda — that she can embroider dreams that come true. She becomes an apprentice at Kaminski Fine Fabrics, where she gains a reputation for creating wedding dresses for Aryan brides that bring their dreams to reality. She becomes known as the Dream Stitcher.

Goldye meets and falls in love with Lev, a freedom fighter who wants to unite Jews and Poles to fight the Germans. Goldye sews images to help him. And she creates a powerful symbol for the resistance of the common people: a stitched hummingbird that spreads hope.

Goldye leaves the ghetto to live with her sewing mentor, Jan Kaminski, who gains identity papers for Goldye as his Aryan niece. A Nazi commandant takes Jan and Goldye on a dangerous trip to France to decipher the symbols in The Bayeux Tapestry. The Nazis hope images in the Bayeux will reinforce Germany’s right to world domination.

In California, Maude’s quest for the truth leads to family she didn’t know she had, and perhaps, love.

©2019 Anchor House Publishing (P)2020 Deborah Gaal

A must Listen

It’s not often that we are transported through the full range of our emotions. The Dream Stitcher by Deborah Gaal hits the mark! The novel moves between two time periods and places: World War II in Warsaw, Poland and America in 2008. The author’s gifted writing is magnified by her nuanced narration. The characters materialize from your ears to your eyes and remain vivid long after you finished. A must listen!

I did not want it to end!

This is not my typical reading but I was totally hooked. The audio is brilliantly performed and it gives you a great sense of the characters! Well done to you Deborah Gaal.

Imaginative and beautifully written

This story was wonderfully written and well-narrated by the author. I loved the elements of magical realism, and the history blended with the present. Wonderful debut!

Attention Grabbing WW2 Story of Love and Intrigue

Loved listening to this well developed historical fiction love story of a young couple from Poland struggling for survival during the Nazi invasion... Had to listen to it twice to really enjoy all the tangles and twists as Deborah weaves the story line through 3 generations of time. Such a well-written novel by one of my classmates from Parkway High School Class of 67. Was fun to hear it all with her familiar voice while I was making masks for health care workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Escape Into Another World

This is a fantastic read ... or listen. The characters of The Dream Stitcher come alive as the author shares her story on tape. Deborah Gaal's theater background lends itself superbly as she narrates this historical and fantastical tale weaving the advent of WWII in the Warsaw Ghetto and modern times in America, following a family's experiences that will draw you into their story. The many twists and turns will keep you ravenous to advance the story, placing you in a world you will be sad to leave at the end.