A happy smile as I mingled with writers and readers after the short list was announced. Imagine the jaw-dropping surprise when I got two emails in the same week announcing The Golden Daughter was a contender for two literary awards. The Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia (WFNS) has shortlisted me for the Evelyn Richardson Non-Fiction Award. Evelyn Richardson (1902 – 1976) won the 1945 Governor General’s Non-Fiction Award for  We Keep A Light . It’s her celebrated memoir of life with her...

I'm just back from my thirteenth bookclub - and it must rate as one of the best yet. Seventeen women, all armed with comments, questions, and tales of how The Golden Daughter  reminded them of incidents from their own lives.   The numbers attending the bookclubs vary, but the questions generally don’t: Why did Mama never tell you about the letters?  What was it like living with your mother? Have you forgiven her for not telling you the truth? What did you do when you found about about your...

My mother Maria (extreme right), pregnant with me, with some of the other residents of a Displaced Persons camp in Weiden, Germany, probably in 1946. I am so humbled by the way my memoir seems to have touched so many people. Thank you to all those people who have taken the trouble to write to me after reading The Golden Daughter .  Lyn wrote to say: "Thank you for creating this deeply emotional tribute to your mother and family. I knew nothing of the Nazi slaves even though I am a prolific...