The Day the Virgin Smiled

About the Book

We start the book in a Church in Berlin where Irene Linford saw a smile appear on the face of the Virgin Mary giving hope and encouragement at a time when Irene had given up .  The very next day there was an amazing happening which would take her, her mother and sister out of war torn Germany for the rest of their lives as they made their escape to England.  On the long train journey, Irene sleeps and dreams , going right back to the early 1900’s and the events of her traumatic life are laid bare for the reader.

About the Author

Author 1- Book 1 (The day the Virgin smiled) -     The first part of the book is the personal life story of Irene Linford who, despite great personal  trauma in her young life as a displaced person in Germany has  maintained a wonderful optimistic view on life.  She lives happily now with her family in Detroit Michigan and is a devout and faithful Catholic attending Church every day .  Her story tells of a modern day miracle during the last war which sealed her faith beyond measure.

Irene first submitted her story for publication many years ago but because of her limited command of the English language , it was not accepted for publication until she met with the second author, Christine, who  re – wrote her book.  Some of the  names of characters have been changed , whilst others who have given permission to be mentioned , are factual.

Author 2 – Book 2 (Earl)    -  The second part of the book was written by Christine Keeley of England  , the cousin of Irene’s husband , Earl .  Christine had wanted to find her cousin Earl for 60 years, and finally did so with the help of the internet. When Earl was 79 and Christine 61 they finally met for the first time ,  and Christine was at last able to fill in all the gaps for him of his early life and relatives of which he had little knowledge.  She has added to Irene’s story in order to give the reader a wider view of the lives and background of both sides of this family,  going as far back as the 1890’s in an industrial town in Lancashire.