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The Meaning of Coincidence and Fate
In Anna’s Shadow, a surgeon finds herself caught in the middle of a man’s search for a woman from his past after leaving Doctors Without Borders to care for her aunt. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The inspiration for Anna’s Shadow stems from a true love story and an article in The Oprah Magazine.
In the early years of World War II, a young German officer was billeted with a German family. A portrait of their daughter hung in the family’s living room. The officer was so smitten by the young woman―she was not in the house at the time of his stay―he vowed that if he survived the war, he would return and ask for her hand in marriage. When I met the officer many years later here in Ottawa, he was already in his senior years and has since died. For many years, I stored this anecdote in the back of my mind, intending to one day work it into a novel. However, I was at a loss about how to build it into a full-length novel until I saw an article about the Juliet Club in Verona, Italy, in The Oprah Magazine. It was Oprah’s article about a group of volunteers at the Club who answer letters from broken-hearted men and women which fired my imagination and which was instrumental in helping me create my story.
What character did you enjoy writing for? Was there one that was more challenging to write for?
I enjoyed creating every character, including the unpleasant ones. There were no challenges. However, I would like to add that readers of my post-WWII childhood memoir, I Stood Among The Ruins And Cried, will know that I had an unhappy relationship with my father. In Anna’s Shadow my female protagonist, Sofia, has an enviable, close relationship with her dad. With that relationship, I created the kind of bond between father and daughter that I never enjoyed and which I would have liked to have experienced. I found healing in developing the loving father-daughter kinship as the story unfolded. As an aside, just like Sofia’s father, my father was a detective in the police force as well.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Several themes run through the story. Sofia, a traumatized orthopedic surgeon on leave from Doctors Without Borders, often ponders the meaning of coincidence and fate; the long-lasting power of memories; the tense relationship with her mother, and the question of whether a person can fall in love again after the shocking loss of a loved one. However, the most important theme is an illustration and a reminder of the cruelty and destruction caused by a war, in this case, WWII. The devastation leaves soldiers, and civilians marred by deep wounds, visible and invisible, that take decades to heal. It’s for this very reason that I label Anna’s Shadow my anti-war novel.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
I’m, at the moment, working on the second volume of a new series, a combination of women’s commercial fiction and cozy murder mystery, working title: The Orla Griffin Buddy Series. Novels of friendship, food, and love. And murder. I’m holding back with the release of book one in the series until next year as I do not wish to compete with the recent release of Anna’s Shadow. However, if readers wish to delve into another love and mystery novel of mine, I recommend V for Vanished, a novel full of passion, heartbreak, and suspense.
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Amazon
“Memories have huge staying power,” Sofia writes in answer to Luke Miller’s letter. “Without them, life would lack colour and vibrancy.”
When Luke Miller, a man in his late seventies, unexpectedly arrives in Verona accompanied by his son to take matters in his own hands, Sofia, who is recovering from a traumatic experience during her past assignment in the Congo Republic, finds herself suddenly drawn into an adventure that affects not only her own life but also the lives of the people who begin to cross her path.
Inspired by true events, Anna’s Shadow is a dramatic, yet uplifting story: a search for a missing woman that will take the reader from present day Verona to Verona in 1945 under German occupation, to post-war Switzerland, Germany and Canada, and explores the question of coincidence, destiny and fate.
Therapy for the Soul
I Stood Among the Ruins and Cried shares your story of growing up in Germany post-WWII with a dysfunctional family brought on by the hardships of living in a war-torn country. Why was this an important book for you to write?
Writing my childhood memoir was never on my agenda. I was working on a historical novel and needed a new home for my young German protagonist after the collapse of the Third Reich and the fascist regime in northern Italy. That new home became Bremerhaven, a port in northern Germany where I grew up. Walking down post-WWII memory lane triggered an overwhelming number of recollections, some sad some funny, all of which left me in a melancholic state. There was only one way to ease my mind: turn those recollections into a book. Writing the book was therapy for the soul and the book has now become a little history of me as a child, for my family and generations to come, and for all those who wish to know what it was like for a child to grow up surrounded by ruins.
What were some ideas that were important for you to share in this book?
The importance of books. Books were my saviour. I was an early reader. Fortunately, reading was encouraged in my family. After many unhappy moments, I sought refuge in the stories I read. Books became my trusted friends, my escape from reality, another learning route, a source to satisfy my curious mind. To this day, I cannot imagine a life without a good book.
I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?
My mother. She deserved a kinder husband, a more loving father to their children. It was painful to write about my middle brother’s life, his death and her devastation, and about her nervous breakdown.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from your story?
The importance of peace. I want to illuminate the devastating effect of war on a nation’s soul and all individuals, where nobody is spared, and where especially the children, the most innocent, pay a high price.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website
Author’s Note:
I was not raised in a family of men and women who once were Nazi collaborators or members of the underground resistance who later wrote sensational books, or left their mark in the field of science that might have earned them a Nobel Prize. My family was ordinary and bourgeois, shaped by alcohol, adultery, and lies, its members, male and female, further twisted and damaged through the horrors of both World Wars. I Stood Among The Ruins and Cried are bittersweet, occasionally amusing childhood recollections, a kaleidoscope of events as seen and experienced through my innocent eyes in post-WWII Germany in a US military occupied zone: life in cramped quarters with a violent father; early years at school; about my brothers, childhood friends and neighbours; my first love and other observations and experiences and much hurt and pain and a strong desire to grow up fast and escape the unhappy environment in which I lived.
I STOOD AMONG THE RUINS AND CRIED
Ingrid McCarthy’s memoir, I Stood Among the Ruins and Cried, presents an evocative portrayal of her childhood in Germany during a tumultuous period. Her narrative brings to life the blend of simplicity and resilience that marked her formative years amidst the backdrop of war. The memoir is enriched with vivid recollections of cherished moments shared with family and friends, highlighting the strength of human connections in overcoming adversity. McCarthy’s reflections on the joy found in simple pleasures, despite the hardships, emphasize the warmth and kindness within her family circle.
McCarthy skillfully crafts a narrative that balances the gravity of her experiences with a touch of humor. She confronts the difficult realities of growing up in a family grappling with the aftermath of war, including her father’s struggle with alcoholism. Her candid storytelling imparts insights into themes of love, compassion, and friendship while also illuminating the constrained roles of women during that era. The memoir is not just a journey through McCarthy’s personal experiences; it offers a broader perspective on German culture and character. Her mother’s resilience and Ingrid’s own quest for emotional connection paint a vivid picture of the human spirit’s endurance.
I Stood Among the Ruins and Cried is a testament to the power of personal storytelling in understanding historical contexts. It is a valuable addition to the genre of autobiographies and memoirs, offering readers a deeply personal yet universally relatable narrative. The book is engaging and insightful, making it recommended for those interested in personal histories set against the backdrop of significant historical events.
Pages: 231 | ASIN : B09G5KJZNZ
LITERARY TITAN 