It’s such a treat to read a book that ticks all my boxes. We Won The War Apart by Nahlah Ayed is “The Untold Story of Two Elite Agents Who Became One of The Most Decorated Couples of WWII”. The fact that this is a true story and the husband is a Canadian only enhances its appeal. I had to wait several weeks for my name to rise to the top of the waiting list at the library but it was well worth the wait. Once I started reading, I could not put it down.

Sonia Butt was raised in both England and France by a mean, abusive, and divorced mother. Her caring father was rarely around during the years she was growing up but he ultimately played an important and decisive role in her life. She was on her own from the age of fifteen and was only nineteen years old when her bilingual language skills in French and English landed her a spot as a trainee in Britain’s secret and very important S.O.E. Special Operations Executive. The S.O.E. had been set up to train and deploy teams of allied agents in German-occupied Europe for espionage, reconnaissance, communications and resistance recruitment before D-Day.

During her training, Sonia met and fell in love with a fellow agent trainee, Guy d’Artois, a scrappy, somewhat rogueish French Canadian soldier from Montreal. D’Artois had been recruited by the S.O.E. for his leadership skills, and ability to adapt and perform under difficult conditions. Their romance was a typical wartime affair that resulted in a hasty wedding before they were deployed separately to France.

Both Sonia and Guy were remarkable people in their own right but their strength and commitment to the war effort could have meant their young lives might not survive being air-dropped into the middle of France just before D-Day. It was a risk twenty-year-old Sonia and her young lover willingly undertook. Their separate missions after they were deployed were conducted in different areas of France and neither knew whether the other was dead or alive. Their work in France during the few months they were there was essential to the Allied effort and was performed with such courage, ingenuity, and dedication that they were ultimately awarded numerous medals and commended by Charles de Gaulle.

The story of Sonia and Guy does not stop with the end of the war. Sonia crossed the ocean with hundreds of other war brides to make her new home in Canada while fame followed the couple for years. Further awards and recognition arrived decades after their service as the world learned of the crucial and once-secret participation of women in daring and critical espionage work. It is difficult to imagine today’s young people having the courage or taking the initiative to serve their country in such a profound way.

We Won The War Apart is a can’t-put-it-down kind of book from start to finish. I realize I’ve provided a bit of a spoiler alert here by revealing they survived the war, but their love story and adventures are fascinating and I am confident anyone who reads this book will agree.

If you are unable to obtain We Won The War Apart by Nahlah Ayed at your local library or bookstore, click on this link to have it delivered directly to your door from Amazon.

(Disclosure: I may receive a teeny, tiny commission. Thank you.)