This book contains excerpts from four years of letters (1941-1945) between Norah Egener, a young Owen Sound housewife, and her husband, Fred, who was stationed overseas. A Time Apart is published on the fiftieth anniversary of his return.
Joan Barfoot read thousands of pages of their wartime correspondence to find this remarkable love story between two strong individuals. She edited A Time Apart: Letters of Love and War and, in her forword, comments, "There are many, many accounts of events in the Second World War: of battles and speeches, of tactics and traumas, of victories and causes and tragedies.
There is not so much about love...". A Time Apart is "...a testament to endurance and commitment and the best honesty two people can manage." In 1941, Norah (25) and Fred Egener (28) had been married five years. They had one child and Norah was pregnant. In June, Fred went overseas. He did not return until June, 1945.
Although A Time Apart is a personal record of the loneliness and courage of two Owen Sounders at home and abroad, the experiences described parallel those of thousands of young Canadian families during the second world war.