Maddie Lock's new memoir, ILLEGITIMATE,
is available now
Born out of wedlock in post-war Germany, a child enters the world between two people seeking escape and renewal—Susi, a young woman desperate to break free from the drudgery of her life, and a POW yearning to start over. When Susi refuses his offer of marriage, a court order severs him from his daughter forever.
Determined to chase her dreams, Susi joins a dance troupe, leaving her infant daughter, Maddie, in the care of her mother, Katharina—a resilient woman who has already raised six children, three with different fathers. Six years later, Susi returns, now engaged to an American Army officer. Maddie is taken from her grandmother and adopted to be raised in America.
As Maddie grows, she wrestles with her fractured identity and, decades later, finds her way back to her German roots. Just before her 60th birthday, a shocking confession from her Aunt Sieglinde shatters everything she thought she knew: her beloved grandmother once participated in a Nazi eugenics program that encouraged “racially correct” unions to produce children for Hitler’s vision.
That revelation ignites Maddie’s quest to uncover the truth about her own father—a journey that intertwines generations, secrets, and the unyielding need to belong.
ILLEGITIMATE is the true story of two women who had to uncover the identities of their fathers in order to truly understand themselves.
Born in Germany and adopted by an American Army officer, Maddie Lock fell in love with words as she learned the English language. When her stepfather retired, the family settled in Florida, where Maddie graduated from the University of South Florida with a BA in English Lit. After a brief freelance journalism career, Maddie side-tracked into the business world, eventually founding and building a successful security integration firm. After selling her company, it was time to return to her first passion of writing. Her combined love for dogs and children prompted two early readers: the award-winning Ethel the Backyard Dog, and Sammy the Lucky Dog. Focus soon shifted to creative nonfiction. Her essays have been published in various journals and anthologies, and she has recently completed a memoir.
Read My Latest Essays
What Sam Has Taught Me
This essay was written while I was very ill, years ago. It came from the heart and a fevered mind, and was perfect for this gorgeous anthology by Laura Lee Cascada honoring her pooch with stories of courageous animals. Sam staggers around zombie-like, legs stiff, toes dragging and scraping on the tile floor. His depleted…
THE FAMILY PORTRAIT, an excerpt
As Michael and I plan our trip to Munich to hear Sieglinde’s story, we take the afternoon to research Lebensborn and decide if there was any validity to “the Nazi baby-making program.”
WORC
When I was fifteen, I walked up to the Whataburger on Seminole Boulevard at the edge of our lower middle class neighborhood in Seminole, Florida and applied for a carhop position. My family had moved into a rental house a few months earlier and I needed a job. My stepfather Ted had recently retired after…
Shop Published Works
Illegitimate
ILLEGITIMATE is the true story of two women who had to uncover the identities of their fathers in order to truly understand themselves.
The Dog Who Wooed at the World
Fifty tales of extraordinary animal courage including What Sam Has Taught Me by Maddie Lock.
Stories That Need to Be Told
My essay The Family Portrait is in TulipTree's most recent anthology Stories That Need to be Told
On Work: an anthology
On Work is a collection of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction that explores work from a variety of perspectives. From food service to road work, sales to the office, and driving to working from home, this collection is full of emotional resonance, keen observations, and powerful words.
Conversations: An Anthology of Prose & Poetry
Congratulations to our Editor's Prize winner, Maddie Lock for her heartfelt essay, "The Stranger."
Ethel the Backyard Dog
Ethel is a lonely dog who lives in her owner's backyard. When a nice lady moves in next door, Ethel jumps the fence and has an adventure that finally brings her the love she wants.
Sammy the Lucky Dog
Meet Sammy, a feisty Jack Russell Terrier with a lot of personality and a penchant for getting into trouble.
R.I.P. Barbara Koski Maxwell. Barbara was one of the most interesting and warmest people I have ever known. Over the course of two years we offered readings at local schools, libraries, and literary events. While I read, she drew sketches of the entranced children and handed it to them at the end of the reading. She was the rock star, always.
