Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol.
Already have an account?
By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR's or APMG entities' programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about MPR, APMG entities, and its sponsors. You may opt-out at any time clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication. View our Privacy Policy.
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?
Ask a bookseller
Emily Bright

Ask a Bookseller: 'All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days'

Ask a Bookseller Podcast
Ask a Bookseller
MPR

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

When Julie Buckles of Honest Dog Books in Bayfield, Wis., encountered Rebecca Donner’s nonfiction book, “All The Frequent Troubles of our Days,” Buckles knew she’d want to stock it in the “Badass Women” section of her store. Subtitled “The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler,” the biography of Mildred Harnick reads like a political thriller.

All The Frequent Troubles of our Days
All The Frequent Troubles of our Days by Rebecca Donner
Little, Brown and Company

Mildred grew up in Wisconsin and met her German husband, Arvid, while attending UW-Madison. They moved to Germany when Mildred was 26, during the rapid rise of Hitler. Working with a carefully cultivated network, they passed out pamphlets, gathered intelligence and helped Jews escape the Nazi regime.

Deeply careful to cover her tracks, Mildred burned her journals before she was executed in 1943. This self-erasure proves a challenge for any would-be biographer.

Author Rebecca Donner, who is Mildred’s great-great niece, draws from family stories among other traditional sources to piece together her work in the underground resistance. Woven through the story is an exploration of what drives a person to act — at complete risk of self — for one’s beliefs.