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MWSA Review
Author Barbara Kent Lawrence weaves a rich tapestry of the lives of her British mother and uncle from 1933 to 1946, before, during, and just after World War II.
The London siblings are in their early twenties when war is imminent, and then a reality. Barbara Green (Stage name: Barbara Greene) is a successful young actress, and Kent Green is an accountant. Before the war begins, Barbara meets Joseph Kennedy, Jr., son of the U.S. Ambassador to England, Joseph Kennedy, Sr. They develop a relationship, and as the war rages, Ambassador Kennedy facilitates Barbara's passage to the United States to escape the hostilities and shield her from a German victory over her country, if England is defeated.
In the early years of the war and despite their burgeoning careers, Kent and Barbara heed the call to national service. Barbara, finding it difficult to find acting work, joins the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) and is trained to care for sick and injured patients. Kent enlists in the Army Service Corps (RASC), and, as an officer, manages the procurement and distribution of supplies to front-line troops.
Through letters written by Barbara, Kent, their mother Muriel, and others, we learn how people coped with loneliness, injury, and grief, as friends, families, and places are devastated. One can easily sense the loving relationship between Kent and Barbara, and see how they mature.
The author creates vivid images of Barbara’s voyage to the United States, the passengers’ fears of German U-boat attacks on their ship, and trepidations about starting life in America. As the war rages in England and the rest of Europe, America offers a place of peace, opportunity, and solace for Barbara, until Pearl Harbor is attacked and America joins the conflagration.
Alternating between Barbara’s war on the west side of the Atlantic, and Kent’s on the east side, we see these siblings find love, lose love and loved ones, face fear, and survive. Besides the engaging prose and realistic dialog, photos, charts, letters, diary entries, diagrams, and documents support the story’s events and human drama within the historical context of the time. The book is well-researched, easy to read, and includes all the necessary references, attributions, and notes.
The author identifies the story as “historical fiction,” and it falls well into the parameters of creative nonfiction—a true story created in the style of fiction and told against the backdrop of a specific period in time.
War stories are very personal. This is such a story, and it offers insight into how two young people navigated difficult years that altered the trajectories of the lives they thought they would live. It is a worthy read, written beautifully. Don't miss it.
Review by Patricia Walkow
Author's Synopsis
In January of 1939 when Barbara Greene, a beautiful and successful young British actress, who was serving as a Voluntary Aide Detachment nurse, met Joe Kennedy Jr., son of the American Ambassador, she could not have expected that their relationship would lead to her emigrating to America sponsored by Ambassador and Mrs. Kennedy. Nor could her brother, Kent, have foreseen his bitter retreat from Dunkirk when he left England in January 1940 to fight in France, or his subsequent service in Cornwall, North Africa, Sicily, and Burma. Their stories portray the war on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and on the home and battle fronts.
Evan Thomas, author of two best-selling books notes "Barbara Lawrence has given us an intimate, harrowing, and vivid portrait of two young people engulfed by a world war... For anyone who wants to know what it is really like to have your world turned upside down, read this book and be shocked, thrilled and moved." Based on a true story, "Both Sides of the Pond, My Family's War -1933-1943" is deeply researched and powerful.
Format(s) for review: Paper Only
Review genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Pages/Word count: 393 / 122,776