Anna's Story

Anna turned 21 years old on the day that she arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia. She felt twice that age. The mirror on the train reflected dark circles beneath her brown eyes and a thin face. Her overall appearance was only saved by her glowing, abundant hair.

A Jewish girl, she was emigrating from Glasgow, Scotland, with her husband and baby daughter. Her father, on her departure, had said: “You’ll live to regret this decision. You were always the one to chase wild dreams, wanting more than you had.”

“Isn’t a dream better than this?” she had asked, sweeping her arms to take in their surroundings.

It was 1922 and Canada was in the midst of Great Depression. When Anna was called upon to honor a commitment to a Jewish friend caught in pre-war Europe, she needed to balance a career that she had worked hard to establish so she could foster a nine-year-old child. Her dreams took a direction that she had never expected.

Elizabeth Carlson has a journalism background and a Fine Arts Diploma in Creative Writing. For over 20 years, she maintained a working relationship with several B.C. West Kootenay newspapers. Her freelance writing has appeared in a number of general interest magazines including publications for seniors and children. Short stories were included in three anthologies. Her most recent published novel was Anna’s Story (2021). Elizabeth lives in Chilliwack B.C., has three daughters, eight grandchildren, and five great-grandsons.Janice Lochbaum, co-author, is a retired registered nurse with a Masters in Science. While having a strong interest in writing since she was a child, most of her professional writing experience has been with health research papers, and project proposals in legal and health areas while working in senior health care positions in B.C. More recently, she has been assisting her mother, Elizabeth, with writing, fact-finding, editing, and researching/documenting of family history. Janice is married and lives in Chilliwack, B.C., and has three sons and two grandsons.