Why did a young Norwegian lady take this trip knowing she would likely never see her family again? Why Minnesota? What was Minneapolis like in the early 1900s? How did she and her husband and children fare during the Great Depression? What were the hardships they suffered during World War II? How did she keep her sanity outliving four of her five children?
Excerpt: "My Grandmother Carrie was almost 91 in 1969 when she put her green-ink-filled fountain pen on paper to start her memoir. Her working space was a gnarly old desk in the study on the second floor of their house on McKinley Street in Northeast Minneapolis. She made it to almost 10 pages but then couldn’t finish it. She’d been in the States since 1903 but rarely wrote anything in English - not even the grocery lists she gave to her husband, Rasmus. She didn’t want us to have to translate from Norwegian, so she felt miserable when she stopped writing. I was the one who had encouraged her to take on the project, so I was the one she telephoned."
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I CLOSED TOO MANY EYES: A World War II Medic Finally Talks
BAYER NONEN ROSS, the son of Swedish immigrants who settled in Southern Minnesota, spent his military service in World War II doing his best to keep soldiers alive. His story was documented in letters he sent home and in conversations with his family.
Bayer saw his life played out in three parts: from 1917 to 1942 he was the dutiful son of Swedish immigrants in Mountain Lake, Minnesota, learning the skills of dry cleaning and tailoring. From 1943 to 1945 he lived through hell as a medic during World War II in Northern Africa, Sicily, and Western Europe. From 1946 to 1990 he was back in Minnesota as a family man and businessman and all the while trying to forget the War. As was true of so many men and women, forgetting wasn’t that easy. Talking about it was even harder.
Order Now in Print or Kindle! Amazon
I CLOSED TOO MANY EYES: A World War II Medic Finally Talks
BAYER NONEN ROSS, the son of Swedish immigrants who settled in Southern Minnesota, spent his military service in World War II doing his best to keep soldiers alive. His story was documented in letters he sent home and in conversations with his family.
Bayer saw his life played out in three parts: from 1917 to 1942 he was the dutiful son of Swedish immigrants in Mountain Lake, Minnesota, learning the skills of dry cleaning and tailoring. From 1943 to 1945 he lived through hell as a medic during World War II in Northern Africa, Sicily, and Western Europe. From 1946 to 1990 he was back in Minnesota as a family man and businessman and all the while trying to forget the War. As was true of so many men and women, forgetting wasn’t that easy. Talking about it was even harder.
Order Now in Print or Kindle! Amazon
