Canadian Author Details Life in Post-WWII Britain in New Memoir

September 1947. The bombs may have stopped falling on British cities, but chaos reigned supreme. Internationally, it was one of Britain's least "finest hours" as its troops forced civilians, many of them concentration camp survivors, to disembark from three naval ships in Hamburg.

On Nov. 14, retired academic and Dean of Science, Roger Gordon will release his memoir, "Starting to Frame," detailing his upbringing in post-war Sheffield, England. The darker elements of Roger's storyline are tempered by a nostalgic, informative, and often humorous look at post WWII-life in a northern England industrial city.

NOVEMBER 6, 2014, Stratford, PE – Roger Gordon, a retired academic and former Dean of Science at the University of Prince Edward Island, is pleased to announce the release of his memoir, Starting to Frame. Bringing life to the language, culture and social mores of post-WWII Britain, the reader will gain significant historical insights as Roger recognizes that compassion and forgiveness are necessary for personal healing to occur where broken relationships are concerned.  

Growing up in Britain during the 1940s – 1960s, Roger Gordon is caught in a drama in which his once close-knit family begins to fragment. When his parents’ marriage implodes, Roger is forced to confront stigmas of the day including divorce, marital infidelity and mental illness. Using humour to temper the darker elements of Roger’s background, Starting to Frame is a story about the futility of family feuding, the need to be loved, and the importance to recognize and understand mental illness. 

In a country heavily damaged by war, both physically and economically, conditions were grim. Roger explains that, “They were hard times. Food, coal and other basic commodities such as clothing and accommodation were in short supply. Most basic items were rationed. Add to this the low wages for a working class family, and the “extras” we take for granted today were few and far between.” On top of post-war rationing and austerity measures, disease threatened close-knit communities. “Polio was endemic, as were several other diseases that modern medicine has successfully dealt with,” says Roger. 

With Sheffield, England as the book’s backdrop, Roger places his life events within the context of what was happening in Sheffield, then the UK and, in many instances, the world at the time. Using a Sheffield dialect throughout the dialogue, Roger explains that he “wants to convey the feeling that this is how real people talked and, also, because dialects are important and should be valued.” 

As mental illness is a reoccurring theme in Starting To Frame, Rogerhas decided to a donate up to 50% of the royalties to the Canadian Mental Health Association and Mental Health Foundation (UK). 

Starting to Frame is available at amazon.com and smashwords.com or by visiting StartingToFrame.com

For more information contact:

Roger Gordon
PHONE: 902-569-2995
EMAIL: rgordon566@gmail.com
www.startingtoframe.com

Media Contact
Company Name: DigiWriting
Contact Person: Monica
Email:Send Email
Phone: 416-587-9370
City: Toronto
State: Ontario
Country: Canada
Website: www.digiwriting.com