Iron Annie And A Long Journey

"A true page-turner.” –-R.L. Read, Former National Awards Chair, Canadian Authors Association When Charlotte met Albert, the handsome Lufthansa pilot, she was sure their lives together would be nothing but bliss and happiness. Little did she know what was in store for her and her family. It was the 1930s and the clouds of war were gathering all around them. Albert, by now a Major in the Luftwaffe had been deployed to Hitler’s private fleet of planes. When WWII broke out Charlotte and Albert’s world fell apart. They would endure long separations, the losses of children, their home and eventually their country. This is a family story of epic proportions, a thrilling page turner with incredible twists and turns of fate and destinies; heartbreaking as well as hilariously funny at times. Will Albert and Charlotte survive? Will their love for each other be strong enough? And who is Iron Annie? Be surprised, it is not who you think. Immerse yourself in a true story of an ordinary German family caught up in the horrors of war.

An incredible life journey of a family before, during and after WWII in Germany. The joys, the heartaches, the inbelievable twists of fate will leave the reader breathless with anticipation.

It was the 1930s and the clouds of war were gathering around Albert and Charlotte. Albert, a Major in the Luftwaffe had been deployed to Hitler's private fleet of planes. When WWII broke out their world fell apart. Will they survive? Will their love for each other be strong enough?

Bertha: Shine Like the Dawn is the true story of Bertha, the author’s great-grandmother, born into relative wealth and comfort in 1860 Germany, orphaned as a baby, and begrudgingly raised by two sets of grandparents. Violated by her uncle at seventeen, Bertha becomes pregnant and is quickly married off to a man beneath her standing. After enduring years of domestic violence and forced pregnancies, she finally walks away with four young children and with only her grandmother in Berlin for support. Once there, Bertha finds love with a mysterious man—but will it last? Bertha, who lives through the turn of the century, the sinking of the Titanic, the First World War, the Spanish Flu, The Great Depression, and the Second World War, accepts whatever life gives her, with courage and passion, but most of all with love. This is a tender romance, filled with compassion and many unexpected turns in life. Bertha experiences unbelievable trials, tribulations, and triumphs, as well as great love and great loss. Readers will cheer for her, cry for her, and love with her.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE DESMOND ELLIOT PRIZE 2022'The energy, the voice, the language, the characters, all real, raw and utterly convincing' Fíona Scarlett, author of Boys Don't Cry'Wonderful, imaginative, highly original emotional rollercoaster of a story' Peter JamesI still think'a her every day, several times a day. Aoife knows everyone in Dundalk's underworld. Too well, in some cases. But when she meets Annie, a beautiful whirlwind of a woman, and brings her to the Town, she finds that she doesn't know nearly enough about her. Annie is magnetic and wild and Aoife's desire to learn more quickly becomes a need, and then an obsession - to know this dangerous woman, to love her, to keep her.So when Aoife's friend and collaborator the Rat King asks her to help him dispose of ten kilos of cocaine, swiped from a rival, she brings Annie along for a road trip through a Britain that she only knows as a place to be suspicious of. So when Annie decides she doesn't want to return to Ireland, Aoife makes a decision that changes everything. Gritty and yet tender, tragic and yet hopeful, Iron Annie is a breakneck journey that crackles with energy, warmth and heart, and marks the arrival of a fresh and vibrant new voice in literary fiction.'Full of wonder, grit, insight, sadness and joy' Donal Ryan, author of The Spinning Heart

**LONGLISTED FOR THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE** An uncompromising, darkly humorous look at life in the criminal underworld of the Irish border from a major new Irish literary voice. Dundalk—The Town, to locals—took Aoife in when she left home at eighteen. Now she’s gone from a small-time slinger of hash to a bona fide player in Dundalk’s criminal underworld. Aoife’s smart, savvy, and cool under pressure. Except, that is, when it comes to Annie. Annie is mysterious and compelling, and Aoife is desperate to impress her and keep her close. Unfortunately, not everyone in The Town shares Aoife’s opinion of Annie. So much so that when Aoife’s friend and associate, the Rat King, approaches her about off-loading ten kilos of stolen coke, he specifically tells her to keep Annie out of it. Aoife doesn’t want to do the job without Annie, though, so she lands on an idea. Annie has contacts in the UK, and sure it’d be better to get the coke as far away from Dundalk as possible. At first, everything goes to plan. But when Annie decides she'd like to stay in the UK, Aoife makes a decision that changes everything, and finds her whole world turned upside down. Gritty yet tender, tragic yet hopeful, Iron Annie crackles with energy, warmth, and heart. A VINTAGE CRIME/BLACK LIZARD ORIGINAL.

Although Annie Marion MacLean, teacher, sociologist, and leader, gained international fame as an expert on working women’s issues, her significant contributions are overlooked by contemporary scholarship. MacLean was extraordinary by any standard—her level of education; her precedent-setting behaviors, research, methodological innovations, public impact, and writing; her dedication to women’s freedom and social justice; and her love for family and friends. MacLean was a vigorous and creative exponent of the forceful spirit of Chicago sociologists. As a graduate of the department of sociology at the University of Chicago, MacLean became one of the founders of the discipline. MacLean was an ally and friend to other sociologists in Chicago who were both students and faculty at the university and at another world-class institution, the social settlement Hull-House. She gained fame as an expert on working women, using ideas to expand their options and respond to their need for social justice. Mary Jo Deegan documents the life, accomplishments, and works of this noted scholar. Deegan explores such topics as Annie Marion MacLean and sociology at the University of Chicago and Jane Addams' Hull-House, MacLean and feminist pragmatism, women and the sociology of work and occupations, women’s labor unions and the feminist pragmatist welfare state, the sociology of immigration and race relations, and MacLean’s legacy to sociology and society. Her inspiring story will be of interest to those exploring the roots of the discipline of sociology.