3 minute read
Author Laurie “L.C.” Lewis tells the story of “The Letter Carrier”
Delivers Harrowing Story of Survival
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Sketch of Michelle made by a U.S. Soldier Michelle (Naget) Rogers at 16.
Written by JENNIFER FITCH
For Laurie “L.C.” Lewis, a 2016 encounter in a peaceful, Sharpsburg setting provided the first anecdotes about horrific, traumatizing events that impacted one woman and the whole world.
Lewis was visiting her mother in an assisted-living community when she met Michelle (Naget) Rogers. She realized Michelle was French and shared information about the book she had recently published. By fall, Lewis had secured Michelle’s trust and was conducting regular interviews with her, learning about Michelle’s World War II experiences that included living with Nazi commanders quartered in her family home.
Lewis recently authored “The Letter Carrier” to tell Michelle’s life story.
“It’s a real story of what can happen and how quickly freedom can be lost,” Lewis says.
Beatrice Kiss, of Myersville, helped to fill in gaps in her mother’s memory and translated family documents for Lewis. Michelle died in January at age 93.
“The Letter Carrier” details how Michelle tried to stay invisible to the Nazi occupiers in her beloved village of Braquis. A deeply religious person throughout her life, Michelle
The exterior and interior (at right) of the Église St-Georges church in Braquis, in northwest France, the hometown of Michelle (Naget) Rogers. The Naget home in Braquis, France, as it looks today.
Author Laurie “L.C.” Lewis
encouraged friends and family throughout the war. She was tasked with carrying messages and goods on a bicycle across the region.
“It definitely impacted my mom severely,” Kiss says. “She was traumatized.”
After 1956, Michelle lived in Germany and the United States. She continued to struggle in areas of her life but remained faithful and resourceful, according to her daughter.
“She lived for others, not herself,” Kiss says.
Kiss heard her mother’s childhood stories time and time again, asking questions when she had opportunities to do so. Most stories contained painful, emotional details, but one about Michelle unknowingly walking into a room and meeting Gen. George S. Patton Jr. made her daughter laugh.
That story and others are incorporated into Lewis’ self-published “The Letter Carrier,” which is available from Amazon and other major booksellers.
“The major events in the book are my mom’s life story,” Kiss says.
Using a number of resources, including a compilation of eyewitness accounts that featured Michelle’s brother’s own words, Lewis connected the major events in a book that is as such advertised as a fictional account. Lewis remained mindful of only asking a few questions each time she met with Michelle to not tire her. Michelle last visited France 16 years ago.
Kiss likes that the book accurately portrays her mother as a child of God and a witness for Him.
“One lesson I got from meeting Michelle is hard things don’t have to make you hard,” Lewis says, saying she appreciated that Michelle remained a gentle peacemaker despite soul-crushing circumstances.
“The Letter Carrier” is Lewis’ 14th published novel under the pen names Laurie Lewis and L.C. Lewis. She said she hopes to see this book stocked in school libraries to preserve the personal accounts from World War II.
Kiss lived with her mother for many years, and Lewis speaks fondly of their shared character traits.
“She’s got her mom’s resourcefulness, and her family is incredibly patriotic,” says Lewis, who now lives in Utah herself.
Kiss said her mother spent her life pushing back against prejudice.
“My mother’s legacy is love for other people,” Kiss says. “She was a selfless, giving person.”
