READER REVIEWS

• "OMG. Actually really sad it’s already over HAHA, I was so hooked on reading this story. I cannot imagine the pain, the ups and downs, the lifelong circle of hope and hopelessness, and the endless search for an answer for Vera and her family. It has touched my heart and made me reflect a lot on my German roots and my family, history and how to deal with similar issues today. This was particularly interesting as a German myself who chose to emigrate in a privileged position, and connecting with so much of the learnings you mentioned in the afterwords section. What a beautiful thing to have this story written down to keep it living on." - Marie-Sophie Pfeifer
• "The most heartfelt story I have read this year is this one. The relentless search for truth and the powerful love of a sister who just couldn’t let go of a promise made almost 70 years ago. That’s when her 14 yr old sister Rosemarie disappeared without a trace. Vera was just 6 yrs old and didn’t understand why her sister hasn’t come back home. It wasn’t until the turn of the century and with advances in technology that Vera finally was able to make good on her promise to Rosemarie and bring her home. Descriptive storytelling made me feel as if I was living what I was reading. Loved it." - Aurelia T, Reviewer
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• "What a read. Although a lot of the book focused on the Doederlein family's lives before Rosemarie went missing, I foudn that it helped give you a better idea of the family as a whole and the life they lived. prior to leaving Germany for Canada and the reasons for the big move. Without giving away the ending of the book, I was equally surprised and horrified as to what Vera and her daughter's internet research brought up about Montreal in the 1950's and the huge amount of missing children. Although the answers to Rosemarie's disappearance came to late for her parents and some of the other family members, I think it brought a measure of closure to Vera. Not the easiest of reads, especially towards the end as the reality is unveiled, but a worthwhile read none the less. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book." - Alison S, Reviewer
  »READ on NetGalley.com
• "This was a long book but I read it super quick. Was a truly beautiful story, made me cry. I cannot imagine. I’m going to get the audiobook for my elderly mother now, she will enjoy." - C. D.
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• "This story is about the immigrant journey to Montreal as well as the devastation of the disappearance of a family member. Like, Vera, I came over to Canada on the Arosa Kulm, (photo attached) two and an half years later. Unlike Vera, I spoke English not German, but the experience was just as exciting and frightening. Rosemarie goes missing shortly after the family arrived. That had to have been devastating to everyone.
  
  When I was 8 I was approached by a man in a vehicle who asked me to get in. I was terrified and fortunate that it was right in front of my house and I was able to get to safety before he could get out of his car. I told my parents to call the police. Until I read Vera's book I had no idea that so many children disappeared from Montreal during the 1950-60. IT was a period in time that adolescents did actually run away from home thinking that their lives would have better. We hitch hiked. We took risks. That was not the case though for Rosemarie. She was snatched and never seen again by the family. The search must have been agony.
  
  The story takes a twist when the access to DNA became more readily available. This aspect is intriguing. As anyone who has done family ancestry searches, there are many difficulties involved. I strongly admire Vera and Christa's perseverance in getting closure. This story is very well written and hard to put down. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it." - E. Young
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• "This book tugged at so many emotions. The love, pain, anger, perseverance and believing are so vividly described, I felt like part of this family. I would recommend this book to anyone. It is certainly a story that will touch the reader’s heart." - Lizzie
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• "Beautifully written. So beautifully descriptive. A long time since I was so taken aback by a novel. Highly recommend!" - Carol L.
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• "What this family endured for decades is just unfathomable. So happy the younger sister got the answers she had been seeking!" - Kerri D
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• "Absolutely beautifully written. Based on a true story, I can say that the emotions were felt that much more. During multiple parts of her book, I could not see through the tears. Having a family myself, but more so being a mother and a sister, I cannot fathom what their family went through and how heart wrenching that must have been. I felt like I truly got to know her family during my time reading so at the peak of the book I felt my heart strings being tugged on. Their family’s strength is admirable. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and am grateful to be able to say that I have read it.
  
  In the beginning I appreciated how descriptive it was from the historical aspect. It helped give an understanding on what the family went through in the earlier years of their life together and the girls childhood. It helped us see why they left to find a new home. The journey to the new place was long and tiring. It tested them. It strengthened the bond of their family. It brought them to the place they’d experience a tragedy and loss that would stay a mystery for many many years to come.
  
  But between Vera’s persistence and desire to find answers so she could get the closure she longed for; and help from friends, family and strangers…..something unexpected happens.
  
  I sure hope you will read this novel and find out✨
  
  It was raw, real and will always come recommended by me🫶" - Family of 7💜🖤💜
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• "If you enjoy historical fiction or non-fiction, I highly recommend this book! The detailed descriptions of life during this tumultuous period of war and immigration is fascinating. The portrayal of starting anew and the desperate search for the family's lost loved one is captivating. The writing is excellent, and the unfolding mystery of Rosemarie is so well-organized that it makes the book difficult to put down. I felt so much empathy for Vera and her family throughout the story. I was glad their perseverance led to answers, but my heart also wished for a happier ending for them." - Amazon Customer
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• "This book is an excellent read. It does have some sad thoughts and a lot of information as well. It is a definite good read about a lost girl and the ways to try to find her and the organizations that can help to find someone." - Linda Engel
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• "I am the opposite of a prolific reader (sadly) . I had an interview set up with the daughter of the author of this novel who actually helped with a lot of the research for the book. She asked me to read it to get a better understanding of the last few years that her family has endured getting this book published and getting all the research pulled together, I remember asking her how many pages in the book and she said about 500. I thought to myself ,”oh dear Lord, what have I committed myself to do?” I started the book and read the book in less than three days (which for me is a Christmas miracle). I was captivated from the very first page , until the very last page. It covered so much about this young girl, her family, and their search for answers and her disappearance . There is much history included that actually helps you understand the place this family was in before and after the disappearance. So much heartache of what the family went through to find out what happened to Rosemarie. It will leave you heartbroken to see the affect it had on her family and generations to follow, but it will also leave you encouraged in all the tools available to solve missing persons cases now with the help of home DNA kits . LOVED it!!!" - Teresa Cooper
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• "This book is incredible. Vera does a magnificent job telling the stories of her family. I feel I know this family and their ancestors. I felt their pain through the war and their loss. The book jumps from the past to the more distant past and eventually to the current day and it is so beautifully written. The journey that Vera takes you on is one you won't soon forget. Rest in peace sweet Rosemarie." - Kharisma Rodriguez
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• "Whatever Happened to Rosemarie is a very powerfully written book which will break your heart. The writing is excellent, and the story is so raw as you read the desperate story as a family search of a beloved daughter and sister. A Family emigrated from Germany just after the war and travel to Montreal to start a better life. A couple of weeks later Rosemarie age 14 went two doors down to buy a loaf of bread for her mum and disappears into thin air. Rosemarie has just started school and does not speak good English or know her way around the city a parent's nightmare begins. When the police are informed by Rosemarie's parents, they think Rosemarie is a run-away due to her age, Rosemarie's parents no she would not leave them as Rosemarie is remarkably close to her brother sister and her parents. As days turn into weeks it looks increasingly doubtful. Rosemarie must have been snatched the police inform the family that likelihood Rosemarie may have been trafficked or murdered. I will not spoil the ending but a remarkable story that Vera and her family have endured for over 60 years and the feeling of hopelessness, and the endless search for the answer is finally available and answered. it is hard to fathom what the family endured all those years as they searched for answers the pain the parents must have gone through never knowing what happened to their daughter. I highly recommend this book as you will get to know the family and Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily." - katrig
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• "Yesterday I journeyed to Germany, Canada, France, and California in four hours and never left my sofa. Through a book gifted to me, I read the story of a lifetime search for a missing person. Author Vera Doederlein began this search in the 1950s for her 14-yeqr-old sister who vanished when Rosemarie simply walked two doors down the street to a bakery and never returned. Vera and her family, immigrants from Germany, used all the resources the Canadian city of Montreal could offer to pursue the missing child, but the clues were too vague, the city too large, and their English too imprecise to yield results. As the years passed, Vera finished school, moved to the U.S., married, had children, dealt with the death of her husband, and eventually moved here to Coronado, CA, all the while with the hope Rosemarie would be found. Through improved technology and her own daughter Crista’s tenacity, Rosemarie was located, and her story unraveled. The story was both everything Vera and her remaining family hoped for and nothing they could have imagined. The story’s themes are pictured throughout: the gracious moon who watched as all this happened, the lovely bracelet Vera made to give to her sister (pictured in the photos in the back of the volume), the references to the chamomile tea that gave them strength during their 70 year search, and the intact snapshots of their family both before and after the abduction. These themes are strong and are capably woven throughout the text. What surprised me was the tenacity both Crista and Vera showed throughout this search and their masterful use of the technology at their disposal. They used newly- available DNA kits, the internet to locate relatives who they never knew existed, telephoned—usually cold calling—people who had never heard of Rosemarie Doederlein hoping to track down this missing sister. While the results weren’t what Vera had hoped for, it was a kind of closure. The search was an all-consuming project and the search has finally ended. They now know What Happened to Rosemarie? as does the reader. Compelling story that moves quickly." - Deb Nordlie
• "Very interesting story but the content is very upsetting" - lynda trenholme
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• "A beautifully written heart filled and heart wrenching story. I was entranced from the first sentence. I spent two nights reading it by what I now will always call Rosemarie’s moon. The perseverance, determination, and grit of this families journey through WWII, a move to Canada, and an unconscionable loss so few weeks later was wrenching but yet inspiring to read. I admire the author and her family for continuing the search for answers and for allowing us to be part of the journey. I hope the knowledge of what happened to Rosemarie brought some peace in the knowing however difficult. This is a must read." - acmore
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• "I recently finished reading this fascinating book titled Whatever Happened to Rosemarie by Vera Christa Doederlein Hatsie. It's a true story about Vera's sister, Rosemarie, a 14-year-old girl who disappeared from the NDG neighbourhood in Montreal during the 1950s. The book chronicles Vera's lifelong quest to uncover the truth about her sister's fate. It also explores how modern technologies like the internet and DNA testing played crucial roles in solving the mystery" - Amazon Canada Customer
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• "As others have commented, it is brilliantly written and almost impossible to put down. I highly recommend this book." - Anne
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• "Whatever Happened to Rosemarie is a very powerfully written book which will break your heart. The writing is excellent, and the story is so raw as you read the desperate story as a family search of a beloved daughter and sister. A Family emigrated from Germany just after the war and travel to Montreal to start a better life. A couple of weeks later Rosemarie age 14 went two doors down to buy a loaf of bread for her mum and disappears into thin air. Rosemarie has just started school and does not speak good English or know her way around the city a parent's nightmare begins. When the police are informed by Rosemarie's parents, they think Rosemarie is a run-away due to her age, Rosemarie's parents no she would not leave them as Rosemarie is remarkably close to her brother sister and her parents. As days turn into weeks it looks increasingly doubtful. Rosemarie must have been snatched the police inform the family that likelihood Rosemarie may have been trafficked or murdered. I will not spoil the ending but a remarkable story that Vera and her family have endured for over 60 years and the feeling of hopelessness, and the endless search for the answer is finally available and answered. it is hard to fathom what the family endured all those years as they searched for answers the pain the parents must have gone through never knowing what happened to their daughter. I highly recommend this book as you will get to know the family and Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily." - athleen R, Reviewer
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• "I really enjoyed this book and read it in only 2 days. I have already recommended it to friends. Thank you netgalley for the early preview of this book" - NetGalley Reviewer 1451558
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• "While this "novel" by Vera Doederlein Hastie is a true crime story, it is not mostly a true crime story. It's mostly a nonfiction turned fiction memoir of Ms. Hastie's family from 1939 Germany to the present. I will confess that at some point in the book I started losing interest in the Germany parts and began skimming. My main interest was what happened to her 14-year-old sister Rosemarie, who disappeared in Montreal in 1954.
  
  It would be 68 years before the author learned what happened and it was indeed a heartbreaking story. No, her sister was not murdered that year, but lived the life of a Stockholm syndrome survivor for decades, never attempting to reunite with her family. It was a devastating story of being psychologically held captive by an insane man, and never trying to find her true self again even after he was gone from her life.
  
  Parents warn their children about strangers and about how to try to get away if grabbed by one. Scream! Fight! Bite! They don't explain to their children, however, about how they might not try to get away when they can, especially after being horribly abused. It would be too confusing and fightening to a child to hear of such a thing. We will sadly never know what exactly was going through Rosemarie's mind all those years living as someone she was never intended to be. What we do know are what thoughts were going through the minds of her siblings and parents for decades after she disappeared. That, too, was truly heartbreaking." - Gayle N, Reviewer
  »READ on NetGalley.com
• "Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. What an interesting experience this book was for me. The story is heartbreaking and lovely at the same time..." - KRISTINE Y, Bookseller
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• "A poignant story of family, love, and loss. While the story jumps between time and locations, it weaves family history, war, and mystery together nicely. I do wish there was more dedicated to Rosemary since the book is about her disappearance. However, readers of history and science will find the methods used to continue the search for answers decades later will be drawn in to the mystery.
  
  Thank you to Vera and Christa for sharing your family’s story with us." - Latricia
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• "Such a captivating and sad story. I remember the author showing up in a Facebook group for my old neighbourhood, and asking for information about her missing sister. The sister disappeared way back in 1954. She showed a photo of herself and Rosemarie, and I thought how mysterious and sad. Then when I learned of this novel I had to read it.
  
  The story covers different time periods and locations, from their tiny German village, to Montreal, then later Ontario and California. Some scenes are fictionalized, as the author was only eleven years old at the time of her sister's disappearance. She also writes about her family before she was born and her father's ordeals in WWII - everything is written in omniscient third-person point of view, so a lot of necessary head jumping, but once you get used to that the story flows easily between the place, times, and characters.
  
  It was a captivating read, and suspenseful as the clues kept getting closer to answers. What could have happened to a new immigrant who spoke little English or French and whose best friend was her little sister? Why was she gone? What happened? The answers finally come and I won't write spoilers but I will say that this family's heartache and experience will stick with me for a long time." - MacLeod Lene
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• "Diese Geschichte hat mich sehr berührt, da sie nach einer wahren Begebenheit erzählt wurde,war ich sogar sehr betroffen! Ich würde mir sehr von ❤️ wünschen, dass diese Geschichte gelesen wird; erstmal zur Erinnerung an Rosemarie, aber auch wegen der Mühe und Beständigkeit der Familie, die Rosemarie nie aufgegeben haben zu suchen und alles getan haben zur damaligen Zeit, was sie nur tun konnten!!! Dennoch beschleicht mich ein inneres Gefühl, dass es damals schon um Korruption und Verschleierung der Polizei und Behörden ging!! Diese Geschichte lässt mich nicht mehr los, sodass ich mir die Fotos am Ende immer wieder anschaue….!" - Bea
  »READ on Amazon.com
  
  

PRESS

Talking With T-Bird
June 2024
In this episode of “Talking with T-Bird,” Rob and T-Bird welcome Survivor: Pearl Islands castaway, Christa Hastie, who talks about her mom's recently published book (and how she helped!).
Watch the interview

Coronado News
June 2024
Coronado resident publishes book about disappearance of her sister: Vera Christa Doederlein Hastie’s sister, Rosemarie, vanished without a trace in 1954. Nearly seven decades later, she solved the mystery.
Read Article

Reader's Digest
Canada - September 2023 | UK August - 2023 | Germany - November 2023
How DNA Testing is Solving Cold Cases—and Reuniting Families
Read Article

Montreal Gazette
December 20, 2022
The Fate Of Rosemarie Doederlein Who Vanished In 1954 Is At Last Known
Read Article

Etobicoke Guardian
September 16, 2022
'We never stopped looking for her': Did missing Montreal teen end up in Etobicoke?
Read Article

Le Journal de Montréal
June 17, 2022
70 years later, she still has hope of finding her mysteriously missing sister
Read Article

Montreal Gazette
June 17, 2022
N.D.G. cold case: Whatever happened to Rosemarie?
Read Article

CBC Evening News Montréal
June 10, 2022
Evening news segment with Debra Arbec
Watch News

CBC News Online Montréal
June 10, 2022
Nearly 70 years ago, a teen went missing in Montreal. Her family is still looking for her
Read Article

LINKS

DNAsuperHero.org
www.DNAsuperHero.org
Everyone can help with missing persons cases!!

The Aware Foundation
www.theawarefoundationofvirginia.com
www.facebook.com/theawarefoundation
For years this organization has been dedicated to providing an up-to-date Facebook resource with news and updates on missing persons across the country, serving as an invaluable resource for the missing and their families.

The JAYC Foundation, Inc.
www.thejaycfoundation.org
This organization offers support and assistance to help people recover from abduction or other traumatic events.

Season of Justice
www.seasonofjustice.org
This nonprofit organization is dedicated to providing funding for investigative agencies and families to help solve cold cases.

When Georgia Smiled
The Robin McGraw and Dr. Phil Foundation
www.whengeorgiasmiled.org
This organization supports many other organizations and programs that help children and families live without fear of domestic violence and sexual assault.

Unidentified Human Remains Canada
Facebook Group
Founder Jan Guppy has tirelessly volunteered for over a decade running her Facebook group that helps connect missing persons with unidentified bodies across the country, as well as connect families of missing people to forensic artists, DNA labs, crowdfunding, search teams and more.

Doe Network
www.doenetwork.org
This organization works to help give the nameless (unidentified bodies) back their names and return the missing to their families.

AUTHOR INFORMATION