Imagine crossing across an ocean patrolled by Nazi submarines all alone at age 13, fleeing the Bombing of Britain during World War II. If you survive, you plan to start a new life as a Canadian cowboy – only without the usual ten-gallon hat, and with little more than a one-pound note and a letter in your pocket.
Peter Horlock lived to tell these very tales to his daughter Hilary, who put them in Both Sides of the Ocean as a surprise for her father’s 80th birthday – a Blurb book that was recently featured on CNET. In this week’s Blurb podcast, Hilary shares some of the strange facts of her father’s life during World War II: government-issue rubber bands to chew on during bombing raids, a cattle stampede started by an eager but green cowboy, and a bittersweet tea dance after four years of separation. Hilary describes finding the diaries, letters, and photographs that went into this Blurb book, and getting a most unexpected response from her father.
Got a Blurb book backstory of your own to share? We’re all ears … tell us below.
