Introduction

For fans of stranger than truth stories, Sandy Schnakenburg is uncovering rattling and unprecedented revelations in this powerful memoir of love, secrets, and survival.

When Lee Metoyer is hired to be the new housekeeper, she has no idea that she’s about to become the anchor to a family in an abusive patriarch's home, setting a mystery in motion that will take decades to uncover. At the age of seventy-two, Lee falls ill and on her deathbed asks Sandy to write her story. The only problem is, Sandy doesn’t know the story.

Embarking on a quest to honor Lee’s final wishes, Sandy takes an emotional and thrilling journey, unveiling shocking truths not only about her beloved housekeeper but also her own upbringing. As she digs further, she learns that Lee came to her family’s sprawling estate in Barrington, IL, harboring a secret past. For decades, she’s been in hiding. But Lee is not the only one with secrets; Sandy’s quest forces her to grapple with her own family history as well, and to finally confront the effects of the psychological abuse she suffered as a child.

Both a chilling and exciting personal tale of love and survival, The Housekeeper’s Secret is a gripping saga that illuminates the resilience of the human spirit.

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Excerpt

On a cool autumn morning in October 1994, Mom stood whipping eggs at the marble-topped island in the kitchen. I was thirty-two years old, married, and living in Australia. I’d
moved out of my childhood home fifteen years earlier, but once a year I flew home to visit Mom and Lee. Even as Lee had become frailer, as she’d grown thinner and quieter, Mom had avoided talking about what we were both thinking. But that morning, she turned to me and said gently, “Sandy, why don’t you spend some time with Lee today? She won’t be with us much longer.” ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

***SPOILER ALERT***

From the author:

1. Why do you think Lee asked me to write her story and not my other siblings?  
2. Why did it take me so long to write the story?
3. How do you think Lee was able to leave her past behind and start over again?  Victor Frankl, a holocaust survivor, speaks about the concept of “resilience” in his book- “Man’s Search for Meaning”. Without giving away any spoilers, do you believe Victor and Lee had more in common than once would think? A housekeeper and a holocaust survivor?
4. What was Lee’s biggest strength that helped her persevere?
5. What was Lee’s weakness or vulnerability that she could not escape, and she took to her grave?
6. Why do you think Lee would not commit to staying at our house on Rainbow Road for more than 2 weeks at a time, for three years?
7. Why do you think Lee needed to think about it over night when asked to permanently move in with the family, especially given the circumstances of where she stayed bi-weekly weekends?
8. What was Lee most afraid of?  
9. What was the common bond Lillian and Lee shared?  What were their differences?
10. What do you think Lee liked most about the Krilich family?  Least?
11. Why do you think Lee lied about her birth date?
12. Why did Lee lie about the tragedy of her husband and son being killed? 
13. Does the reader see Lee as a Liar or an authentic character, true and honest to their every word and action?
14. What was your first reaction when you discovered her truth?  No spoilers.

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