"All That This House Has to Offer is a series of vignettes that briefly delve into the life, loves, and hopes of the matriarchs of the Wall family. Throughout the book, as we watch Betty Wall grow up, we learn about the struggles her mother and her grandmother have faced in order to afford her the life she now lives and, in turn, can give her own daughter. A collection of personal “heritage stories,” this book tells us a very personal, yet universal story about how war changes the trajectory of a family’s life while showing us the power of storytelling.
“We heard these stories from time to time, how one husband had been sent to the
labour camps in Siberia and managed to get out, arriving in Canada twenty years
later to find that his wife had remarried, assuming he was never coming back.”
This nonfiction story collection transitions from story to story chronologically,
beginning with her preparing a meal with her mother as a young girl. At different
stages in Betty’s life, she asks her mother or her Oma Wall to tell her stories about
their childhood memories and experiences as they moved their families from Ukraine
to Austria and then finally to Canada. World War II is the backdrop to their story; their
husbands, sons, and brothers were being kidnapped or conscripted to the war, in spite
of their being Mennonites and conscientious objectors to the war.
All That This House Has to Offer is a deeply personal collection of essays that is filled
with joy and heartbreak. The book cherishes the innocence and hope of childhood
while praising the strength and resilience of parenthood. The essays feel alive; the
smells of freshly prepared meals and hot drinks spill out of the page. Church hymnals
can be heard at the turn of a page. This book will encourage its readers to ask about
their family history and remind them that they have their own important and sacred
memories to share." --independentbookreview.com
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