FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Searching for Her Desired Haven

Fort Lauderdale, July 2006:  “War is Hell,” so saith General William Tecumseh Sherman, an officer of the Union Army during the American Civil War.  This phrase is a truism, which is not only a fact, but a bit of an understatement.  War is more than Hell, as we discover every time another episode of hostilities erupts in our turbulent world. During the course of WW II, more efficient and deadlier weapons were invented and brought into the fray, to the dismay of all right-thinking people. In his new book, Desired Haven, Alan J. O’Reilly brings forth a dramatic reality when depicting the horrors of war, and also a compelling representation of the people who pick up the broken pieces, even while coping with traumas of their own:

“Seems like trouble’s your middle name, McGrath.”

You could understand why Matron said that.  Nursing Officer Colleen McGrath, who trained with Anne (n) Linton*, had seen plenty of trouble.  *See Sound of Battle, by the same author.

Her commanding officer in Italy charged her with “intolerable” behavior towards the Chaplaincy.  She escapes court martial only by being transferred to the Far East.

In less than a month, Colleen dodges strafing, bombing, shipwreck and a knife attack.  In Calcutta’s Grand Hotel, she breaks a vase over the head of a drunken special forces officer and has to be taken into protective custody. 

On the Gothic Line in Italy and later in Burma, she sees enough blood and mayhem to last a lifetime, though she is still only twenty-three at the war’s end.

Even then, her troubles aren’t over. 

The Great Enemy sometimes targets particular individuals.  Colleen was one.

Her only hope is to find grace abounding - and her desired haven, with the man she loves.

About the Author:

Born in Sydney, Australia, Alan O’Reilly is a Chemical Engineer by training but has been interested in World War 2 for over forty years.  As a committed Christian, he has explored the theme of faith under fire in his earlier book, Sound of Battle, published by Llumina and he develops this theme extensively in Desired Haven.  Alan says “I also want these books to help commemorate the World War Two generation, which is sadly passing from us.”

Alan and his wife live in North Yorkshire, England and have two grown-up sons.