Does knowing the truth make a difference?

I remember the day my dad and I drove by Grandma’s house and he casually mentioned that she had friends visiting. Two sisters.

“They survived the Titanic,” he said.

At the time, I was too young to know the importance of that remark, but for some reason, I never forgot it.

Since then, I’ve often imagined going back in time to sit in one of Grandma’s white porch chairs and listen to those two women share their experiences.

Of course I’ll never make that trip, but I recently came close when I read a new release, Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal, by Kathleen Kovach and Paula Moldenhauer.

At first I expected a repeat of the 1997 movie, Titanic, but that was not the case. This e-book spanned the decades for me while keeping me firmly rooted in the present. And it fulfilled my wish to step back in time and hear a survivor’s first-hand account of the tragedy.

Of course the survivor, Olive Stanford, is a fictional creation, but she embodies the mixed motives that all of us deal with: selfishness and heroism.

Sometimes lives are built on what appears to be the truth, and such is the case with the story’s main character, Ember Keaton-Jones. But Olive Stanford knows the truth. The only problem is, that truth went down with the RMS Titanic.

Ember is on the brink of a major real estate deal when she meets a New York lawyer with a letter, a key, and a 100-year-old secret. If she dismisses his offer to peek into a safety deposit box about to be opened for the first time in a century, the contents will go to a museum. However, the contents pertain to her. She must choose between a one-time opportunity to learn the truth about her past and a career-launching leap into her future.

She cannot have both.

The tale of these fictional characters is based on detailed research of the famous tragedy of 1912, and is interspersed with true accounts of actual victims and survivors—like the preacher who gave his life vest, and ultimately his life, to a man who wasn’t “saved.”

Redemption and hope thread through this intriguing tale, and the authors have listed study questions and reference material at the end of the book for those captivated by the legacy of RMS Titanic.

How would you choose? A life-changing secret about your family, or a business deal that could secure your future?

Jesus said the truth will set us free.

Get the e-book here.

Leave a comment at my blog Davalynn Spencer. I'd love to hear your thoughts.