Children of a Faraway War tells the story of Wendy and Robbie, two Australian-born sisters, now in their seventies, and their life-changing quest to learn the truth about their father who died in England in World War II while serving in Bomber Command. Because of their mother’s reticence and their reluctance to probe her grief, they grow up knowing very little about the man who could have been a father to them. Separated by half a world, Robbie in Australia, Wendy in Canada, they plan a trip to England as a kind of homage to this missing dad.

This journey of discovery, undertaken so late in their lives and guided by the one artefact they have, his wartime diary, leads them the length and breadth of the UK. Their travels, ranging from the hilarious to the serendipitous to the deeply moving, allow them to recreate their father’s story and the horror that was Bomber Command. Undertaken almost casually at first, their quest grows into a search for identity and an affirmation of the profound power of family, love, and memory.

Wendy Gruner was born and educated in Australia. In her twenties she travelled, as many young Australians do, to the UK and explored Europe. She then drifted to Canada. There she stayed, marrying a Canadian and raising a family of three daughters. She taught high school English for thirty years, always writing, accumulating unfinished manuscripts and using the excuse of a busy life not to pursue publication. After retirement, a course at The Humber School for Writers, and a trip that demanded documenting, resulted in a book. She now lives in Guelph, Ontario where she continues to write.

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