Off to War: Soldiers' Children Speak

Deborah Ellis

Mar 2009 · Allen & Unwin

About this ebook

'Dad had a lot of combat stress when he came home,' says Kaela, 13. 'He tried to hide it from us kids, but I could see that he was a lot quicker to get angry.'

'Daddy is an important soldier,' says Cole, 6. 'I'm going to be a soldier when I grow up because they have guns and I like shooting bad guys. The hard part would be dying.'

'Find someone you can trust if you need to talk,' says Allison, 11. 'Find some way to relieve your stress. You have your own life to live.'

The collected voices of these children - sad, scared, funny, angry, and loving - makes Off to War a powerful and eloquent statement about the families of the men and women who fight for their countries, and the burden they bear. The book includes a glossary and a list of organisations and publications that help soldiers, veterans, and their families (including Australian and NZ organisations).

About the author

Deborah Ellis was born in 1960 in Cochrane, Ontario, and was raised in Paris, Ontario. While still in high school, she got involved in the anti-nuclear war movement in the late 1970s, and that lead to further involvement in politics, particularly feminism and projects aimed at drawing attention to the consequences of war. She had been writing since she was a child, and published Looking For X in l999, followed by the novels about Afghanistan. She has been able to travel around the world, meeting people who have survived serious calamities brought about by other people's decisions, and has recorded their stories for others to read and learn from. She lives in Simcoe, Ontario.