Elizabeth Haswell Books

"Afterwards"...begins with the end of Jed and Jessica Oaks' life journey. Jed's final act, as his sister lies dying, is to write an important letter in email form, to both his and his sister's individual family groups. In it he explains that he and Jessica have started a very worthwhile project but time, unfortunately, has run out for them. Unless something is done, their old, bucolic farm home and animal sanctuary will cease to exist. Important decisions have been made. Seven spunky, orphaned children have been selected to come and find safe haven at Twin Oaks. Each is twelve years of age, the exact age of Jed and Jessica when they were left on their own long ago. Excellent leaders have been hired to provide for their care and support. Competent lawyers have arranged all legalities. Money is not a problem. Still, Jed recognizes even all these preparations may not be enough. His email is a request for additional help from all of them. The question is - was Jed and Jessica's dream too much to hope for? Is there any chance of success?

None of their friends appreciated Hidden Island. That was something Caroline and Scott learned early on. Caroline s school friend, Althea, attempted to define the uneasy feeling that came over her each time she visited the cabin. I want to like it, for your sake, but... it s eerie Caroline, she whispered, shivering a little. There s a feeling of sinister possibilities here. She turned to Caroline, and with her usual drama-queen style narrowed her eyes and warned, Always be very careful here. Hidden Island is a story of survival of ordinary people pitted against almost insurmountable challenges. It is a book the reader will not easily forget.

It is the post war period in Ontario, Canada, and Jed and Jessica Oaks, twelve year old twins, are living a completely happy life on a farm with their grandparents. Suddenly everything goes wrong. A terrible automobile crash robs them of the only family they have ever known. Their natural parents have no other choice but to be reunited with children they barely know. With no other option possible, off they all go together to start a new life in Toronto. Their plan to be a family becomes an impossible goal. Big city life is not for the twins. Their parents, however, cannot tolerate farm life. The result is that through a set of odd circumstances, the twins are left living on their own. To survive and to escape the clutches of the Children's Services, they must figure out a way to live without attracting attention to themselves. Their greatest fear, because of their young age, is the possibility of being taken up by Children's Services and placed in separate foster homes. On Our Own tells the story of how these unique children learn not only to survive, but to achieve great success. There are moments of anguish, and of fear, and even of humour and laughter, while they learn to cope with unexpected problems. The lessons they must learn are many: to trust again, to seek and appreciate friendships and to come to know and accept the true meaning of 'family.'

This is a story woven from the lives of three people: Andrew Lambton, a builder of bridges, Jozsef Lambton, an obstetrician, and Claire Clark, a beautiful woman whose life is bound up in theirs. Jozsef Lambton has the best possible life. He has found a satisfying profession. His wife, Barbara, is a great and good friend. He adores his daughter, Devon. What haunts him, though, are memories of his past. His father, Andrew Lambton, a former Barnardo boy, has achieved great financial success, yet, the loss of his wife, Zajac, drives him to despair. Claire Clark has survived a dark, chilling and very damaging childhood but, in her struggle to survive, she has overcome her demons. What appears to be a chance meeting between Claire and Jozsef is, instead, an important mission for Claire. She has found peace in the green hills and valleys of a small, country town, with her beloved son Dean, but the time has come to tell both Jozsef and Dean of their true relationship. Other characters are an important part of the story: a determined school teacher, a willful daughter, a forgiving son. There are equal portions of love, laughter, heartache and struggle in The Importance of Bridges. Hopefully, should you begin to read it, it will draw you in and, by means of laughter and understanding, awakened your deepest emotions.

This, the third book in the Twin Oaks trilogy is action-packed. It begins with a proposal of marriage, follows with the unwanted return of Jed and Jessica's mother, Angela, and concerns the abduction of Jed's fiancé Ginny Miller. Terrified of the danger Ginny is in, Jed calls on the help of his old friends Thorpe Norville, Clint Kelly and Hans Weber. Each in his own voice relates his part in the combined effort to save Jed's beloved. All they have to go on is that the kidnapper is under the influence of his brother, a paid assassin for American crime bosses. Secondary plots are developed in this story of drama and suspense. Jessica and Hans, now a married man with a young son, are reunited once more and Angela Oaks finds her true love in a simple farmer. The surprise ending is something that neither the reader nor the main characters could have ever imagined.