In 2007 I found a photograph of my British mother actress Barbara Greene, and uncle Kent taken just after she joined the Voluntary Aid Detachment and before he left with the BEF for France. I was struck by their innocence and calm before what I knew would be a terrible storm — she to survive over 78 bombing raids and he to be rescued from Dunkirk. Looking at their photograph made me realize that I knew little about their lives before I was born and needed to learn more. My new book, “Both Sides of the Pond, My Family’s War: 1933-1946,” took me 18 years to research and write and for me was time well spent. We honor those who came before us by learning their stories, and I am gratified and relieved the book has been received well.
NYT best-selling author Evan Thomas writes, “Barbara Lawrence has given us an intimate, harrowing, and vivid portrait of two young people engulfed by a world war….From heady and improbable love affairs amidst the falling bombs to the gritty deprivations of daily life, it’s all here in a timeless well-told tale.” Award-winning author Barbara Lazear Ascher notes, “I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. History and the complexity of human relationship unfold with uncommon grace.”
I’ve written 9 books and many articles on topics ranging from eating disorders in males, education, issues of class between rural Mainers and summer visitors, and now World War II. What links this eclectic collection is that I write about what I care about, what I want to learn about, and to better understand myself.
I earned a BA in anthropology from Bennington College, an MA in sociology from New York University, and an Ed.D. in Administration, Policy and Planning from Boston University and taught courses in anthropology and sociology, research methods, and writing non-fiction and memoir at Northeastern and Lesley Universities in Massachusetts. In addition to teaching, I have have worked for the Department of Social Services and the Housing Development Administration in New York, directed a small museum in Maine, co-run a brokerage and construction company, consulted for the Rural School and Community Trust and KnowledgeWorks, and started four non-profit organizations supporting the environment and students. When not working, I love to garden and walk, which are pastimes I learned from my British mother. I live in Maine in the United States with my longtime parter Bob.
