Motherlode: A Mosaic of Dutch Wartime Experience - Paperback

by Carolyne Van Der Meer (Author)

Motherlode: A Mosaic of Dutch Wartime Experience is Carolyne Van Der Meer's creative reinterpretation through short stories, poems, and essays of the experiences of her mother and other individuals who spent their childhood in Nazi-occupied Holland or were deeply affected by wartime in Holland. The book documents the author's personal journey as she uncovers her mother's past through their correspondence and discussion and through research in the Netherlands. Motherlode also considers mother-daughter relationships and the effect of wartime on motherhood. Motherlode is not about recording precise historical data; rather, it attempts to recover and interpret the complex emotions of the individuals growing up in wartime. The book is based on interviews with the author's mother and other Dutch Canadians, interviews with and letters from Canadian Jewish war veterans, and information provided by individuals with direct or indirect experience of the Dutch Resistance. The creative pieces explore onderduik (going into/being in hiding), life in an occupied country, the work of the Dutch Resistance, liberation, collective and individual cultural memory, and the way in which wartime childhoods shaped adulthood for these individuals.

Author Biography

Carolyne Van Der Meer is the author of Motherlode: A Mosaic of Dutch Wartime Experience (WLU, 2014); Journeywoman (Inanna, 2017); and Heart of Goodness: The Life of Marguerite Bourgeoys in 30 Poems Du coeur à l'âme: La vie de Marguerite Bourgeoys en 30 poèmes (Guernica, 2020), which was awarded second prize in the Poetry Category of the Catholic Media Association's 2021 Annual Book Awards. Another poetry collection, Sensorial, was published by Inanna in 2022.