Someday We'll Understand

by Mavis Jameson Rukin

This delightful story from the Second World War, told first hand by Mavis Rukin, gives a day to day reality of what it was like for ordinary folk trying to survive with little money, resources, and no knowledge of where their family was.

It tells of the hardships families suffered, their resilience, and how they just got on with it and did the best they could to live each day as it comes.

She remembers the day they moved to a house with an outside flush toilet, and the time her mother turned yellow with cordite poisoning from working in the munitions factory.

But romance was never far away, especially when the Americans arrived, and many young women sailed away as war brides.

When prompted by colleagues to answer questions on what life was like living through the war, Mavis didn't realise what extensive knowledge she had hidden away. She was 'a walking history book', and this is her story.

171 pages, Paperback

Published May 31, 2018

About the author

Mavis Jameson Rukin was born in Chorley in 1933 and grew up in Leyland during WWII. For the last fifty years, she has lived in Kenilworth in Warwickshire. Having four children over twenty years kept her busy, until she became a mature student at Fircroft College in Birmingham in 1991. There, an argument with another student sowed the seeds for Someday We'll Understand. But it gathered dust when she took full time care of her handicapped grandson after the death of his parents. Many years later, and after much nagging from her family, her first book is complete.

Reviews

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very endearing book, and it is all the more interesting because it is largely autobiographical. Hearing Mavis's recollection of her life under WW2 is very engaging, I really enjoyed learning about her life, the things they had to go without, and how people lived under the looming threat of war. Mavis's life took place around the Leyland area; I have roots in Leyland from my Mother's side of the family, so hearing familiar place names (like Chorley and Euxton for instance) and what they were like during wartime was highly interesting.

I don't know if it was just my copy, but I feel this book really needed a more attentive editor. There are some spelling mistakes and grammatical mistakes which could have been easily avoided, but overall the content of the book is superb, and the minor issues to not detract from the overall read. It just would've helped give the book an extra layer of polish. Overall, I would very much recommend this book.

[Elaine Karen Ann Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This delightful story was about a young girl growing up in the second world war in a little town called Leyland,Lancashire.
It tells you about the hardship they endured and the resilience and how they all pulled together.
It also gives you the history of the small town and it's surrounding areas.
Very enjoyable book to read.