Writing about war – Helen Carey

It is hard to write a book at any time, but somehow, it’s even worse when the world is in such turmoil, especially if you are trying to write about war, as I am.

I am currently writing a new novel set in the Second World War. Knowing that, even as I write, people are suffering the very same problems I am writing about, makes it seem even more important to get the facts right, and to try to convey the sense of desperation that ordinary people suffer when their leaders decide to go to war, the fear, the helplessness, the anger, and the grief for the almost inevitable loss of friends and family.

There are other emotions of course, too. The Second World War has been written about so much, we all know stories of the Blitz, for example, the extraordinary courage that so many people showed, the gritty humour in the face of privations and adversity, the pulling together, and the resilience that carried them through.

These are the stories we cling to in difficult times. We like to read of courage and defiance. About people helping each other and risking their own lives for the greater good. We hope that, in similar circumstances, we might react the same way. I hope that we would. But deep down we probably also hope we won’t have to. We see megalomaniac dictators and self-serving despots in other countries thrusting their populations into unwelcome war and we hope that our own leaders will keep level heads, will behave in a statesman-like way, and not be rashly and nationalistically gung-ho.

But it seems to me that the very people who yearn to become leaders, are often the very people we should try to prevent from doing so. Their ruthless ambition does not take the ordinary person into consideration. They are happy to sacrifice their own people if it suits their own ends. What they want is glory and power, and we know from history over the centuries what that generally leads to, sooner or later. War.

But such tyrants clearly have to be opposed. And to do that we need good leadership. We need the statesmen who can see further than their own over-weaning ambition. The politicians who see the bigger picture, who look to the greater good, rather than giving in to the temptation to line their own pockets.

Unfortunately, such people seem increasingly hard to find. But it is down to us to look for them. We need to vote for people of honour and integrity. People who care what happens to us. People who care what happens to the world as a whole. Not people who merely know how to manipulate the media, who whip up nationalistic hatred and intolerance, who lure unsuspecting voters with rants of injustice and promises of a golden future. Surely, we can do better?

I think we have to. There are too many of us living in this one world. We have to pull together. Not just to win wars.  But to win a lasting peace for the generations behind us.

‘Rulers, statesmen and nations are often advised to learn the lesson of historical experience. But what experience and history teaches is that nations and governments have never learned anything from history.’ Hegel.

‘Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy.’ Anne Frank.

Helen Carey

Helen Carey is the author of the bestselling Lavender Road novels set in WW2. She has also written a couple of other books, one of which is Slick Deals, an environmental thriller set in Wales. Having spent time in various parts of the world, including a couple of years on a boat in the Caribbean, she now lives with her husband on a small coastal farm in Pembrokeshire which they run as a wildlife haven. Currently living with them is a large Greek dog who they found tied up on a chain. Just before the pandemic they drove to Greece to bring her back to Wales, a round trip of 5000 miles!

www.helencareybooks.co.uk or find her @helencareybooks on Facebook, X, Instagram LinkedIn, TikTok.

You can find the Lavender Road series at – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0841Y8HQT?binding=kindle_edition&searchxofy=true&ref_=dbs_s_aps_series_rwt_tkin&qid=1722685634&sr=8-2