Based on a childhood of shadowy secrets surrounding her parents' marriage and the rigid judgment of the Evangelical religion, the author attempts to find her truth. A work of historical fiction and romance, it spans the era of WWII and beyond, weaving the story of her father, mother and aunt (her mother's twin sister). The unexpected twists and turns mirror those of our own lives, and readers can empathize and identify with the characters' humanity as they struggle with their flaws. The power of religious judgement is explored along with the strength and resilience of individuals challenged by the ethics of life. This is also a fascinating study of the complexities of being twins. With the strongest of bonds that overwhelms their very different personalities, their love for the same man creates a gulf between them that threatens their entire adult relationship. It is also a story of a man and how he navigates his own journey after love and loss. When his WWII experience takes him
to countries he has never dreamed of seeing, and opens him to the excitement of new cultures, he finds new meaning. At the same time, his bonds to his comrades in arms and their shared experiences of battlefield traumas leaves him with emotional scars. A story of secrets and the power of love, the themes of self-doubt and second chances are embedded in the narrative, along with the acceptance of one's actions following painful choices.
A story of human connection between twins, lovers, comrades during World War 11, families, and generational trauma, set across the United States and Europe and against the shadow of the Evangelical religion and its judgments. A family saga of secrets, shadows, and unspoken enduring love, and its impact across three generations, based on a true story of
lived experience. A work of romantic, historical fiction, The Man in the Middle; A Tale of Tangled Lives is based on the true story of the author's parents. It follows their youth in the early 1900s in US, through the years of WWII in Europe, and after, and their lives as friends, lovers, parents, and elderly individuals.
This is a story of love and its many forms. There are no heroes or demons, only people dealing with their humanity. Or maybe there are heroes: Luke, as he navigates his life honourably and responsibly, while harbouring feelings for more than one woman; Anna as she comes to terms with her selfish impulses and attempts to overcome them; Pierrette, who recognizes and accepts that she cannot give Luke the life he wants, and that their love is not enough. Karoline is perhaps the true heroine of the book. A victim of the religious beliefs she is trapped by, she finds it impossible to love herself. Instead, she spends her life feeling inferior to her sister and undeserving of Luke's love. At Luke's passing, she finally receives the confirmation of her worth and her place as the love of his life.
