The Crooked Path by Irma Joubert

The Crooked Path by Irma Joubert

As retired physician Lettie Louw looks back upon her life, she recounts her coming of age in WI-era South Africa in this compelling story of delayed love, loss, and reconciliation.

Lettie Louw is the daughter of the town physician in their South African village. She spends her childhood in the warm African days playing with her friends and being adored by her doting parents. When she becomes a teenager, she experiences her first taste of unrequited romantic love in the form of her best friend's older brother, De Wet Fourie. When De Wet pursues the beautiful and wealthy Annabelle, Lettie's dreams are crushed, and she moves to Johannesburg to pursue her studies in medicine.

Life in Johannesburg feels strange to Lettie, and the world around her is in profound upheaval as the Second World War rages. Her feelings for De Wet never waver, and Lettie is heartbroken when he marries another of her childhood friends. Lettie soon meets Marco Romanelli, an Italian immigrant, and they marry and raise two daughters, as the racial and political tensions in South Africa swirl about them.

Lettie never forgets her first love, even as the ravages of time, war, and illness play upon her life and the lives of those she loves. In their later years, Lettie and De Wet are thrown into one another's company again, and they are given another chance at a life together.

Irma Joubert, an international successful author, taught history for 35 years before turning to writing. Her stories are noted for their rich historical richness and deep insight into intimate connections. She's the author of eight novels and a regular on bestseller lists in both the Netherlands and her own country of South Africa. She took home the ATKV Prize for Romantic Books in 2010. irmajoubertpage on Facebook.