a very powerful, sad and at the same time clearly loving memoir.
Beautifully written and such a wonderful mixture of what life can bring!
So worth the read!

I really enjoyed Dadland and am sorry for being remiss in not commenting on it sooner. My interest in reading it was as background to our BookBrowse review of the book - which I'm glad to say was 5 stars:
https://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/3530/dadland

I really enjoyed this book. As the teacher in charge of stocking the senior school library, I like to ensure that the books are diverse and the students are exposed to both excellent fiction and excellent modern non-fiction. I think that this is both a fascinating and well-written book that has much to recommend it and will keep the students interests. It is good to stretch their reading interests by providing them with books about subjects they might never have considered before and this definitely does the job well. It is also good to find books that I know the teaching staff might enjoy as well as the students and I definitely think that this applies in both cases. Absolutely recommend wholeheartedly; a fantastic read.

Tom Carew was a remarkable man by anyone’s standards, and his daughter Keggie’s memoir is both riveting and entertaining. Tom Carew – amongst other things – was part of the Jedburghs, an elite British unit in WWII. I’d never heard of them before, but what a brave and adventurous lot they were. I did get a bit bogged down in all the fighting in Burma, but that apart I found this a compelling and moving account of a man’s life. Keggie Carew chronicles not only her father’s exploits but also his family life and, sadly, his descent into dementia, which was the impetus for her to find out as much about him whilst he still had some memories. The strong bond between father and daughter is plain to see – but my goodness, he wasn’t an easy man to live with! I very much enjoyed the book, and also learnt a lot about the history of Burma. An excellent read.

Powerful memoir of love and memory

A daughter pieces together her father’s wartime history while his own memories fade away through dementia.

Keggie Carew has produced an usual book that is part military history and part journey of discovery into her father’s life and the challenges of caring for someone with dementia. This makes the book far more personal and human as Keggie struggles with her father’s behaviour whilst learning of his adventures as a member of the Special Operations Executive in German-occupied France then in Japanese-held Burma during World War 2.

It’s powerful and at times comical stuff, whilst very moving as her love for her father shines through all her challenges and discoveries.

A fascinating dual narrative true story that will remain with you for some time.