Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson @sadeqasays @mskarenchilton @realadamlw #KarenChilton @simon.audio @simonaudio.bsky.social

the setup…
It’s 1950 Mannheim, Germany and Ethel Gathers, a black woman married to an officer, is desperate to start a family. She discovers an orphanage filled with children who are obviously mixed race, born of Black soldiers and German women. They were placed there when the mothers could no longer support them or keep them safe. Ethel not only creates a plan to help them but finds the children she yearned for. Ozzie Phillips joins the new segregated Army in 1948 and lands in Mannheim, hoping he’ll see more opportunities open up. He meets Jelka, a German woman who will change his life. Fast forward to 1965 Maryland where impoverished Sophia Clark is given the opportunity to attend an all white private boarding school because of her scholastic achievements. While there, she discovers shocking information about her identity.

the heart of the story…
At the center is Ethel’s Brown Baby Plan where she rescues these children, placing them with black military families stationed in Germany and those wanted to adopt them back in the US. However, it’s a look back into a time not so long ago when Black people faced discrimination at every level but also found ways to rise above and around the many barriers. It’s timely given the current climate to raise consciousness about the unfairness (and cost) of treating anyone differently because of the color of their skin or ethnicity.

the narration…
Ariel Blake, Karen Chilton & Adam Lazarre-White are natural born storytellers, or at least they come across as such. They made me believe their characters and delivered great performances.

the bottom line…
I have a vague recollection of the Brown Baby Plan and am grateful for this story as it’s inspired by real life Mabel Grammer who actually was its creator and placed over 500 of the Black-German children with American families. It’s also difficult to revisit that time when discrimination was rampant, even in the desegregated military, just more subtle. Thanks to the author for reminding us that now isn’t the time to resurrect this kind of ugliness through three inspirational characters.

Book Info

• Release Date: February 10, 2026
• Narrators: Ariel Blake, Karen Chilton & Adam Lazarre-White
• Audio Length: 14 hours, 22 minutes
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

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(Thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio and Libro.fm for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)