Local fans of Estevan-based author, Marie Donais Calder, will be delighted to know the fifth book in the "Other Side" series has now been published. The title is "The Other Side of Torn" and it continues to tell the tale of Eddie, a Canadian soldier in World War Two, who befriended a German family and forever changed their lives. In this volume, Eddie learns that he is being called home to Canada, and he feels emotionally torn between the desire to re-unite with his Canadian family, and the concern he feels for the Schmidt family in Germany.
Calder, who was on hand at the Trade and Craft show in Arcola a few weeks ago, said "I've been writing all my life. I just didn't know I was a writer."
It all began when she was still in school. She started writing silly little limericks, and the teacher encouraged her to keep on developing her ability. After a while, the limericks became serious poetry, but Calder herself went into a career in teaching. Then, in 1993, one of her kindergarten students was diagnosed with cancer, but the little girl had a dream to be able to read and write, and Calder was moved by that. "I started writing in earnest, making homemade books for her. I also started to home school her. She gave me the springboard." Sadly, Taylor Hanson died at age seven.
Whatever gift of inspiration the little girl had given to Calder, the creative abilities and talents continued to flow from the author. She wrote and published a book for children, it was called "Humpty Dumpty is a friend of mine." However, it was still not the work that would launch her career in a large way.
In 1998, Calder's then 81-year-old mother, made a decision that would change everything. She decided to go to Germany to meet a very special family. During World War Two, Calder's dad had served with the Canadian army in Germany. Missing his own family back home, he had befriended a German family, and his interaction with them had not only helped him get through the war, but it probably saved the lives of the young Germans too.
For Calder's mother, the time her husband spent in Germany represented a period of missing time in the marriage, and part of her longed to connect with that time. There was only one slight challenge, contact had been lost with the German family, and many people thought it would be impossible to find them. Marie Donais Calder did not accept this negativity. She told her mother, "Yes we will."
Calder set out to find the needle in the haystack. She researched the names of the family, and located a number of possible candidates in the correct German city. She wrote 10 letters in English and planned to have them translated, and sent to Germany. If a match was found, she would travel with her mom to meet the Schmidts in Germany. However, life took another turn. Calder developed problems with her left eye, and ended up spending months in Regina just trying to save the eye and her vision. In the meantime, a friend translated the letters and they were sent to Germany in June 1998.
In July, two replies were received. They simply said, "Sorry, we are not the family." Then, at the end of the month, a fax came in. "Happy to receive your surprising letter. We are the family you are seeking." While Marie was unable to travel with her mother, her brother did. By the end of August, her Mom was in Germany.
Calder still wonders why circumstances prevented her from making that trip, but she accepts it as part of the mystery of life. She continues to tell the story of her mom's trip. "Mom took pictures with her, pictures I grew up with. In Germany, the family had pictures waiting on the table for her. Many of them were duplicates of the pictures she had. It was a finding of the missing piece for mom."
The visit with the family was videotaped. It was a very special occasion, and Calder knew it was no accident, indeed it was the start of a new chapter in her own life. "It was as if dad was handing me a favour" she says, "As if he was saying OK Girl - it is your turn now." In Calder's mind, it was a clear indication that this was a story that had to be told. "It was a way to honour the Canadian soldiers, the families of the Canadian soldiers, and the German people all over the world" she said.
The seed was planted, but then in 2001 Calder was considered to be "legally blind" and she had to give up her teaching career. It was an unexpected turn of events, and she found herself asking "Now what?" For many people this question might be a cry of despair, but for Calder it was a challenge to herself to find the purpose behind the situation. "Life has to have a purpose" she says. "I have always been a driven person."
And that was when a writer came to town. Calder started going to his meetings at the local library, and he asked her "What do you want to write about?" Calder's answer was "About my dad." He then told her to go home and come back with a 5,000 word article for him to review." Calder remembers, "I didn't come back with five, it just flowed, it was 20,000 words." She and the author began to appreciate this was the start of something more than just an article.
At first, Calder thought this might be a series of two books. However, as creativity went into overdrive, within the first few months she already had completed the first three books and a fourth one was on the way. The titles were, "The Other Side Of War", "The Other Side Of Fear", "The Other Side Of Pain" and "The Other Side Of Trauma." And that was when Trauma really did hit Calder once again. "Mom died, and I went through trauma, in fact I just gave up," she shares.
Life carried on and years went by, and then a miracle happened. In early February, 2010, an editor at Borealis Press started opening boxes of manuscript submissions. He took out two chapters of Calder`s first book, read them, and didn`t even look at the rest of the submissions. The editor contacted Calder and requested the entire manuscript. By July 13 that year, she had her first book in publication, with the clear understanding that more would follow. The story of Eddie was at last going to be known to a larger audience.
People indeed love the story. A loyal following of fans has been developing, and they are eager for the news when a new volume is released. While this summer witnessed the publication of the fifth book, Calder estimates that the series might run as high as 20 volumes. Each edition weaves the story of her father into an encouraging tale of victory over challenges, and there are many more topics to consider in "The Other Side" series.
Most recently another major development has taken place. Another publisher has secured the rights to take the series into international distribution. Their first target market is Germany. Calder smiles as she sees a bigger picture. She knows the emotional impact of her father's experiences, she sees the underlying lessons of love and compassion that go beyond the politics of the war. There is warmth and encouragement in what her dad did, and his story is his legacy to the world, a legacy that reminds us in every experience, there is indeed "The Other Side."
