Gisèle van Waterschoot van der Gracht and the people she hid in her apartment during the World War II occupation of Amsterdam endured tremendous hardship. Shortly after the liberation of Amsterdam by the Allied Forces, Gisèle met a Canadian Army private who happened to also be her cousin. He brought food to the apartment, and a lifelong friendship ensued. After the war, Gisèle became well-known as a painter and stained-glass artist. She traveled extensively and never allowed difficulty to stand in the way of what she felt needed to be done. Her bravery was formally recognized by the Netherlands, Germany, and Israel. She died in 2013 at the age of 100.

Circles is a family memoir. Beginning with the stories told by the author’s father—the Canadian soldier Gisele met in Amsterdam in 1945—it continues with other friends’ and relatives’ tales about the artist’s long, extraordinary life.