Ian Wilkinson

Crossing the Water Ian Wilkinson

Publisher Marketing: Two young boys living in an institution are caught in crossfire at the outset of the Irish rebellion ...one boy is protected by a British soldier, while his friend is used as a human shield. Each will escape the institution, face the pain of emigration, and become a fugitive from justice while trying to build a new life. One will cross the Irish Sea to join the British army, twice; the other joins the Republicans, crosses the Atlantic and tries to settle in America. Throughout all this, they remain friends. Will they find the courage to follow their dreams despite one setback after another? Each will travel the globe in different ways before both their lives entwine around a troubled family in a remote corner of northern England - how does an ordinary working man raise six daughters while taking care of his increasingly crazy wife? And as a world war rages around them, who will survive amidst the chaos of Dunkirk and the battle of the Atlantic? And after the war, when the survivors meet amidst crisis and tragedy, one of the daughters must now choose between her close-knit family and the man she truly loves... This is a tale of two Irish 'children of independence' as they come of age and face one crisis after another; and of the people they meet and come to love. The struggles and the resilience of ordinary people in the era between and during the wars forms a backdrop for an action packed and very unusual story - much of which is based on real events.