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Almost a Great Escape

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About this listen

Following his mother's death, in 2004, Tyler Trafford discovers an album of old letters and creased photographs that reveal a mother he never knew, a man he's never heard of, and a love affair doomed by class and circumstance. The letters are from Jens Mller, a Norwegian pilot who trained in Canada during the early days of World War II, one of only three prisoners who would make it home after The Great Escape.

In Almost a Great Escape, Trafford takes us on a journey of emotional discovery and dramatic disclosure as he reconstructs his mother's life, from her youth as a wealthy Montreal debutante to her final days as a broken but unbent casualty of a loveless marriage. His search for answers takes him across Canada and then across the ocean to Norway, hoping to learn more about the mystery of this secret relationship.

Written with a fluidity fueled by heart-wrenching honesty, Trafford's unconventional memoir confirms that while you can survive your past, you can never escape from it.

©2013 Tyler Trafford (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Entertainment & Celebrities Historical Military & War Women Celebrity

What the critics say

"The audio version of this touching memoir illustrates the point that hearing a story is a more personal and immediate experience than simply reading one. Narrator Mike Vendetti achieves this intimacy with his nuanced delivery of Trafford's extraordinary story of star-crossed lovers...Vendetti's blending of brisk narration with softer introspective passages gives all the personalities distinctive voices while also delivering the emotional depth of this son's moving tribute to his beloved mother." ( AudioFile)
Winner of 2013 AudioFile Earphones Award
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What an interesting book, a blend of a biographical tale, a biography about the author’s mother and a stunning slice of WWII history involving one of the three survivors of the ‘great escape’.

I enjoy books that emerge from the mystery of a parent’s papers left behind after death, and this one did not disappoint. His mother was a writer, so the her musings on her craft were an amusing bonus.

If you have not read The Great Escape, or have only seen the movie, I highly recommend the Audible audiobook as a prelude to this; I listened to it just a few months before I stumbled on this book, and I liked that order.

Fantastic story

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