The life of Madzy Brender à Brandis (1910-1984) - her experiences in war, as an immigrant and pioneer, wife and mother, writer and painter, and an invalid - exemplifies the challenges faced by women in the twentieth century. In a vivid retelling of her mother's story, Marianne Brandis chronicles Madzy's life through a provocative narrative that combines fact, reconstruction, and informed imagination.

Drawing from her mother's diaries, letters, newspaper columns, fiction, and historical works in English and Dutch, Marianne reconstructs Madzy's upper-middle-class childhood and youth in Holland before World War II, her struggle to keep herself and her small children alive during the war, and her emigration to Canada with her family in 1947. In addition to describing Madzy's participation in historic events, Marianne also explores her mother's inner life. Frontiers and Sanctuaries is most powerful in showing how Madzy's lively, creative temperament allowed her to adapt to war, a new language and culture, pioneer life, and crippling rheumatoid arthritis.