He Wrote Her Every Day: A true story of love & courage in WW2 - Gail Lindenberg

Available on Amazon here 

In 1944, James William Hendrickson, Jr  received the news that his fighter-pilot brother, Bill, had been shot down over Germany and taken as a prisoner-of-war. Then and there, Jim decided to enlist and bring his brother home even though that would mean leaving his new wife, Irene, behind. He made her a promise - he would write to her every day while he was away.  Gail Lindenberg, their daughter, uses the original letters as well as conversations with her mother to dramatically retell their story - how one man was determined to survive the horrors of the Second World War to get back to the woman he loved. For me, this was so much more than a simple love story. Firstly we do see the pure love and devotion of one man to his wife, you can feel the adoration he has for her in the notes he wrote, you get the sense of her being his beacon of light in times that we know would have been hellish.

There is more though, a first hand glimpse into the lives these soldiers had to lead on a daily basis albeit from the perspective of finding 'lighter' things to write home to his wife about and not detailing the absolute horror he must have been encountering. 
As I read through the letters and retelling of his story,  I really was captivated by the unique descriptions of being in the army, his training and time spent travelling but also the camaraderie between soldiers that gave me a smile and is true testament to the strength of character Jim and his fellow officers had. 

This is a well written and cleverly put together memoir that lets us experience the war from a different perspective whilst giving us a beautiful story of love, separation and heroism. 
I received a free electronic copy of this from Netgalley, Gail Lindenberg, and Sapere Books in exchange for an honest review. 
 

Comfy Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍