No Ocean Too Wide
A Novel
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Between the years of 1869 to 1939 more than 100,000 poor British children were sent across the ocean to Canada with the promise of a better life. Those who took them in to work as farm laborers or household servants were told they were orphans--but was that the truth?
After the tragic loss of their father, the McAlister family is living at the edge of the poorhouse in London in 1908, leaving their mother to scrape by for her three younger children, while oldest daughter, Laura, works on a large estate more than an hour away. When Edna McAlister falls gravely ill and is hospitalized, twins Katie and Garth and eight-year-old Grace are forced into an orphans' home before Laura is notified about her family's unfortunate turn of events in London. With hundreds of British children sent on ships to Canada, whether truly orphans or not, Laura knows she must act quickly. But finding her siblings and taking care of her family may cost her everything.
Andrew Fraser, a wealthy young British lawyer and heir to the estate where Laura is in service, discovers that this common practice of finding new homes for penniless children might not be all that it seems. Together Laura and Andrew form an unlikely partnership. Will they arrive in time? Will their friendship blossom into something more?
Inspired by true events, this moving novel follows Laura as she seeks to reunite her family and her siblings who, in their darkest hours, must cling to the words from Isaiah: "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God".
Customer Reviews
We’re not giving up - we’ve just begun the fight...
This is the most incredible story - one that I am quite sure everyone should read. I would imagine that anyone that enjoys history and all we can learn from it, has heard of the British Home Children (BHC) as well as the Kindertransport during the war. In many ways the same, but also so very different. While the children from war-torn countries were sent away for their safety, the BHC were sent to America to reduce the number of destitute children roaming the streets of London and other places. Unfortunately some of those sent away were from loving families that were temporarily unable to provide for their needs. This is the story of one such family.
Garth and Katie, 14 year old twins, were sent to different homes, since boys and girls were not in the same home. Young Grace, 7, was allowed to stay with her sister, Katie. Child emigration was regular at that time - the children were sent to Canada, where they were then put into homes that were prepared to accept a child into their family as well as care for them. The people overseeing those homes didn’t value family connections, so were these siblings likely to ever see each other again?
Andrew Frasier and Henry Dowd were given the task of following this emigrant cycle to see if it was all done legally. Were these children all orphans or were some taken from their families without permission? What were the conditions the children were living with in Canada? Answers for these and other questions were what they hoped for.
This incredible story has been on my desk, just waiting for me to sit down and read. Published by Multnomah the comments and impressions given are my own and were in no way solicited.
A poignant novel
No Ocean Too Wide is the first book in The McAlister Family series. I found this historical novel to be compelling. I was drawn into the book and I just wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next to the McAlister family. I thought No Ocean Too Wide was well-written with interesting characters. The author’s research is evident in this story which is based on true events. Laura McAlister has strength, determination, faith and loyalty to her family. I liked that she learned a few life lessons along the way. Katie had a strong faith for a fourteen year old girl. She never failed to pray no matter the circumstances. Katie never lost faith that God would help her. I found No Ocean Too Wide to be an emotional story that will stay with the you long after you finish it. I liked that the romance is not the feature of this book. It plays out gently which suits the characters and their situation. Christianity is a part of the characters lives. They seek Him out and are not afraid to share their belief with others or speak of it aloud. We see in No Ocean Too Wide that God is always with us. We need to have faith and trust in Him. We see that there are two sides to every story as with life. While some people only heard about the good of child emigration, there was a bad side to it as well. I liked the addition of Rose Carson and Henry Dowd. They were great additions to this book. No Ocean Too Wide is a poignant novel that will touch your heart.