Blogs which describe moments in my life, or the lives of my family.
There is something special about listening to someone tell a story, especially if their story relates to their own experience. Over the last five years I have spent a lot of time researching World War II from the German point of view, to try to understand my father’s experience of
My father’s extended family is scattered around the world. Most of them are from Europe, but I can boast distant cousins in America, South Africa, England, Ireland and even Indonesia. Every two years a family reunion weekend is organised and held in different places throughout Europe, which is exactly why
As I pack for a family trip to Europe, part of me is planning how to fit some research for my book into the trip. On my last visit, I went to some of the towns and cities my father had lived in or visited. This visit, I would like
Writing is a solitary and often lonely. Even if you set your laptop up on the corner table of a busy café, you are most likely still writing alone. If you are like me, you are probably sitting alone in front of your computer, in your pyjamas. So, it is
If you think of it, our lives are built on stories. Our stories begin with our birth, our mothers relate tales of various levels of pain in labour; often our details are written down or at least discussed with family and friends, our length, weight, the colour of our eyes,
Yesterday it dawned on me that, if I’m lucky and if my family history is anything to go by, I have perhaps another 30 years on this planet; if I’m not lucky, I could die tomorrow… or today. Thirty years to do all the things I would like to do.