heather l nelson with anthony d leonard

Lost Family: FOUND! is an astonishing, epic, true story.

As adult children investigate their parents’ lives trying to understand their own existence, they discover a love story with heartache, mystery and intrigue, elements of human interest, times of war and peace, and travel--involving many states and two countries.

The incredible discovery 68 years after the end of WWII, of an American family found by an unknown brother who was left behind in England, who led us to find other family secrets too impossible to imagine.

  The shock, the joy, and the surprises uncovered are shared as the separate lives begin to connect.

Excerpt from the book:

“This can’t be real!”

I re-read the letter on my computer screen.  I read it again.  The hair prickled on the back of my neck.

Earlier in the day I received a call from my brother, Kim, who lives in Reno.  He said, “Hey, Sis, I have this letter from England sitting on my desk.  I’ve had it for a few days and I don’t know what to make of it.  I didn’t open it at first, because I thought it might be from someone I didn’t want to make contact with.  But it’s from a stranger.  It says some guy in England is looking for Mom.  I think it’s a hoax.  Do you think I should just throw it away?”

Knowing my brother Kim, who is quite the lady’s man and a world traveler, I could see how he might believe he was being contacted by a “friend,” but since the letter said it was Mom they were looking for, I wanted to know more.  I asked him to scan the letter and email it to me.  I wanted to read it before he tossed it into the trash.

We hung up the phone, and while waiting for Kim’s email to arrive, I walked out on the deck of my home and took a deep breath.  We have a beautiful view and I am often drawn to the outdoors in all kinds of weather.  It was a crisp January day.  The sky was blue, and beautiful Mount Hood a very brilliant white contrast.  The trees, some green and some leafless, swayed slightly in the cool breeze.  I shivered as I gazed down at the memorial garden I had planted for my mother shortly after she passed away.  The Golden Chain tree planted in her memory was brown and lifeless.  Nothing was growing in the garden this time of year.  I pondered about my brother’s phone call.  I shivered again as I sent thoughts to Mom in heaven asking her who could be looking for her now?  Was it some long lost relative, or an old friend?

Soon it became too cold to stay outdoors and I went back into the house to see if the letter had come through on email.  I was very curious about who wanted to know about our mother.  It has been twelve years since she passed away.

Kim called again about a half-hour later saying he was having some computer trouble, and would have to wait until his girlfriend, Emily, came home to help him.  We continued to chat about Mom as we waited.

Kim said in an off-handed way, “After reading the letter again, I think Mom must have had a child in England that she put up for adoption.”  Kim always thought of the oddest things.

I laughed, and disregarded that idea completely.  Mom was such a prim and proper English lady.  The idea was preposterous to me.  As we talked, Kim and I hashed over what we knew of Mom’s life in England before she came to the USA in 1946 to marry Dad, an American soldier she had met during the war.  This story is continued in the book, Lost Family: FOUND!

The author, Heather L. Nelson is also the author of several children’s books, Daisy the Protector Dog (for young children), First Summer with Horses (for teens/preteens), and Minerva’s Maneuvers (approximately ages 7-10).  Heather lives with her family on a farm in the foothills of majestic Mount Hood, Oregon, in the USA.  Anthony Leonard, her unknown brother left behind in England, resides with his family in Market Weighton, York, in the United Kingdom.  This story is the true, but unbelievable discovery of their kinship.

Now the story of this family—and these lives, is rewritten.  We hope this book will encourage others who are searching for their own lost families.