The Sooner You Forget

2026 Next Generation International Indie Book Award Winner for a debut novel,
2026 Next Generation International Indie Book Award finalist for historical fiction,
20th Annual National Indie Excellence Award finalist for military fiction,
and James Kirkwood Fiction Award nominee.

“Beautiful and touching passages counterbalance horror and loss with great effect, and giving life to an unknown or rarely told story is important.”—JONATHAN STARKE, contributing editor to the bestselling novel The Boat Runner

“Vivid, horrific, and heartbreaking, yet utterly redemptive. The visceral and cinematic narrative crackles with authority.”—MARK SARVAS, winner of the American Book Award and Jewish Libraries Fiction Award for his novel, Memento Park

"Chris Bensinger’s novel... takes readers through the lasting effects of trauma... the characters are well-developed and their troubles are painfully vivid to read." —Jewish Journal

Based on a little-known chapter of World War II history, The Sooner You Forget dramatizes the struggles of a young American soldier to not only survive a Jewish labor camp, but also to later reconcile what happened to him at the hands of the Nazis—and his own government.

Soon to be eighteen, Charlton Buckley is looking to escape the grips of his dead-end Wisconsin hometown and abusive father. When his dreams of joining a Major League Baseball team fall short, he channels his enthusiasm toward piloting for the Air Force. His youthful optimism is quickly burnt away when his plane is shot down on his first mission, causing him to be captured and sent to a German stalag. As the Nazis’ war efforts start to fail, though, they pull only Jewish soldiers from the Allied ranks and transport them to a secret labor death camp. Despite his Christian background, Buckley is taken, and there he experiences horrors beyond imagination. Navigating trauma, faith, love, and loyalty, The Sooner You Forget is the story of one man’s search to find true liberation decades after imprisonment.

Christopher Bensinger is a James Kirkwood Fiction Award nominee. He earned a UCLA Certificate in Fiction with distinction and has a BA in psychology from Bowdoin College. The Sooner You Forget is his bucket list debut novel. Chris retired from his real estate executive position and became a Tony Award–winning theatrical producer of The Book of Mormon, American Idiot, La Cage aux Folles, and others. He is an avid sportsman, husband, and proud father of two wonderful children.