Power of Remembering - From BHCARA November 2020 Newsletter

Adventure. A bit of romance. A dash of science and business. A real page-turner. A historical mystery.

That is what I wanted to write when I set out to pen The Ever Open Door.

What had started as a project to improve my writing skills was morphing into a new desire – the desire to create something that would entertain readers and carry them away to a different time.

Growing up, I always loved history. I found myself curious about other cultures and times and would often imagine what it would be like to live during those periods. The by-products of that curiosity were the lessons I gleaned from studying historical figures and the questions it raised in myself.

Would I have made the same choices? The same mistakes? Would I have been brave? Or would I have cowered when faced with the same challenges?

Around the same time period that I started The Ever Open Door, I was researching my grandfather’s history. I learned he was a British Home Child and had come to Canada as part of a large-scale emigration scheme that had spanned over seventy years.

I was stunned. How did I not know this? Had I missed a day in Grade 10 Canadian History?

No, I had stumbled upon what many before me already had discovered – that child immigration is a part of Canadian history that is seldom discussed or taught in school. Our loved ones seldom talked about it. There was shame and stigma in being a Home Child. It is a story filled with pain, humiliation, separation and oppression. It’s uncomfortable. And so why pick at it, why remember it and why bring it to light?

Shame is a toxic emotion. It suggests to us that we don’t belong, we are less than, or that we are unlovable. It is an impediment to connection, change and growth. It was a burden foisted onto the shoulders of the British Home Children - a stigma they could little understand, let alone defend against. And so they hid their shame, never spoke their truth or of their experiences, sometimes thinking they deserved the hardship they endured.

“If you put shame in a petri dish, it needs three ingredients to grow exponentially: secrecy, silence, and judgment.” – Brene Brown

When we teach others about the child emigration schemes, we end the secrecy. When we share the stories of our loved ones, we end the silence. When we learn of their struggles and triumphs we quiet judgment. We alleviate the shame.

The story of British Home Children is not only one of grief and sorrow. It is a story of perseverance, love, and strength. In neglecting to tell the story because of the uncomfortable parts we neglect to share the light of these children and the contributions they made to Canada. A contribution that shines even brighter when contrasted with the darker side of their story.

As I wrote The Ever Open Door, the things I was learning about my grandfather started to weave themselves into my writing. The story started to be about more than entertainment. I started to look at child immigration not only through the eyes of the children but through the philanthropists and charities that carried it out. I started asking myself questions again: Would I have made the same choices? The same mistakes? Did these people have good intentions or were they all bad or perhaps a mix of both. Considering the social construct of the day, what were their blind spots? And finally in our own time, how can we ensure we improve lives when we help others and not, inadvertently, make their life worse?

We share the past so we can learn from it. We build understanding and compassion. We face the pain, confront its teachings and summon the courage to turn the page and do better. We connect. We learn. And we grow. Not just as individuals, but as a community.

For me, that is the power of remembering.

And what of the adventure? A touch of romance? The dash of business and science? A real page-turner? Heck yes, that is all there too! Because I love history, and I love when it is shared through a good adventure story even more.

The Ever Open Door follows the story of Rachel Gilmore, the daughter of a prominent ship owner who is forced to volunteer in a children’s sheltering home by her “do-gooder” stepmother. When Rachel’s father is gravely injured in a suspicious dockside accident, Rachel races to keep his business out the hands of greedy creditors and finds herself becoming ensnared in the child emigration scheme of Liverpool.

Rachel Gilmour’s story does not end with this book.

My goal is to have the next part of her saga explore British Home Children and their lives even further – still through her eyes. And of course, to be a good page-turner!

https://www.britishhomechildren.com