What do you think?
Rate this book
The Way Home
William and Nora Anderson had four sons; Bertie, Ronnie, Charlie and Teddie. In 1914 they went to war. None came back. This is the story of a family's destruction. "The Way Home" is a fictionalized telling of a true story, the brothers sharing their experiences, hopes and fears as they approach their fates amid the horrors of the trenches. Back home in Scotland, Nora finds an outlet in her diary as the Great War tightens its grip on her children. It began on a surge of Bertie, Ronnie and Teddie rushed to join Charlie in uniform. 'Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were all in this together,' wrote Charlie. He arrived in France in late 1914, and soon went over the top. He was never seen again. Ronnie, a happy wanderer, was next for Flanders. He lasted until the following autumn. 'Quiet day,' recorded his battalion's war diary. 'AR Anderson killed.'Teddie, the heart of his mother's existence, had swapped his school books for the pilot's wings of the fledgling flying corps and was soon at the front. Finally came Bertie's turn, and he too went off to war. 1918 arrived with no end in sight. To Nora's relief Teddie was back in Britain having been made an instructor. Then one sunny March morning, he lost control of a Sopwith Camel and plunged to earth. 'Yesterday,' recorded Nora, 'I buried my youngest son. Edward Kerr Anderson. He was 21 and as a man he had known only war and yesterday I buried him a victim of war.' On the day of Teddie's funeral, the Germans launched a massive offensive. Four days later Bertie was dead. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross and a memorial to the four brothers was placed in Glasgow Cathedral. It remains there today.
188 pages, Paperback
First published November 19, 2007
4 people want to read
About the author
Robin Scott-Elliot
6 books4 followersRobin Scott-Elliot has been a sports journalist for over 25 years with the BBC, ITV, the Sunday Times, the Independent and ‘i’, covering every sport you can think of and a few you probably can’t. The highlight was the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics; the lowlight turning up at the wrong stadium to cover Scotland’s football team.
Finding Treasure Island is his fourth historical-fiction novel after The Tzar’s Curious Runaways, The Acrobats of Agra and Hide and Seek.
He lives in Helensburgh with his wife and two daughters, and a dog, a cat, a rabbit and a guinea pig.
Finding Treasure Island is his fourth historical-fiction novel after The Tzar’s Curious Runaways, The Acrobats of Agra and Hide and Seek.
He lives in Helensburgh with his wife and two daughters, and a dog, a cat, a rabbit and a guinea pig.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 18, 2025
The Way Home is a powerful and intimate look into the lives—and tragic deaths—of four Scottish brothers who fought in World War I. Through a carefully curated collection of letters, telegrams, journal entries, and newspaper articles, the book traces the wartime journey of the Anderson brothers—Bertie, Ronnie, Charlie, and Teddie—who each lost their lives in the conflict. It's a deeply human narrative that brings the unimaginable toll of war into sharp personal focus.
What stood out most to me was the emotional depth offered by these firsthand accounts. Reading the brothers’ own words as soldiers, alongside their mother Nora’s journal entries, gives a rare dual perspective—both from the battlefield and from the home front. The addition of newspaper clippings and historical context helps fill in the narrative gaps and gives readers a fuller picture of what was happening at the front. It's not just a story about soldiers; it’s also about a family trying to hold itself together in the face of relentless loss.
That said, one aspect I wish the book had explored more was the brothers' pre-war lives. We get glimpses of their personalities through their letters, but it's hard to build a complete picture of who they were beyond the war. More background on their civilian lives could have added depth and made their individual losses even more poignant.
One particularly complicated figure in the story is their mother, Nora. While her grief is completely understandable—if not unimaginable—her favoritism toward her youngest son, Teddie, becomes increasingly uncomfortable to witness. The way she emotionally latches onto him, especially after the deaths of Charlie and Ronnie, borders on enmeshment. Her apparent neglect of Bertie, especially when called out by his wife, adds another layer to the family dynamic that’s both fascinating and frustrating. It’s hard to tell whether this favoritism was always part of her personality or a result of wartime trauma—if we had more letters or insight into her life before the war, we might have a clearer picture.
However, by the end of the book, we see a heartbreaking change in Nora. After the deaths of her remaining sons and the loss of her husband in 1922, her journal entries shift. Her grief becomes more evenly spread across all her sons, and she begins to mourn each of them with a sense of collective sorrow. Her earlier favoritism seems to fall away as the full weight of her loss sets in. The most devastating part is her expressed desire to join them—an indication of the depth of her despair and a poignant reminder of how war devastates not just those who fight, but those left behind.
The Way Home explores themes of grief, sacrifice, patriotism, and the way war reshapes personal and national memory. It's a sobering reminder of the human cost of conflict—especially when told through voices that were silenced too soon.
I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in WWI history, especially readers looking for firsthand accounts from soldiers and their families. It's particularly relevant for those curious about Scottish contributions to the war effort, especially the Highland Light Infantry. This isn’t just a military history—it’s a family history, and one that resonates long after the last page.
What stood out most to me was the emotional depth offered by these firsthand accounts. Reading the brothers’ own words as soldiers, alongside their mother Nora’s journal entries, gives a rare dual perspective—both from the battlefield and from the home front. The addition of newspaper clippings and historical context helps fill in the narrative gaps and gives readers a fuller picture of what was happening at the front. It's not just a story about soldiers; it’s also about a family trying to hold itself together in the face of relentless loss.
That said, one aspect I wish the book had explored more was the brothers' pre-war lives. We get glimpses of their personalities through their letters, but it's hard to build a complete picture of who they were beyond the war. More background on their civilian lives could have added depth and made their individual losses even more poignant.
One particularly complicated figure in the story is their mother, Nora. While her grief is completely understandable—if not unimaginable—her favoritism toward her youngest son, Teddie, becomes increasingly uncomfortable to witness. The way she emotionally latches onto him, especially after the deaths of Charlie and Ronnie, borders on enmeshment. Her apparent neglect of Bertie, especially when called out by his wife, adds another layer to the family dynamic that’s both fascinating and frustrating. It’s hard to tell whether this favoritism was always part of her personality or a result of wartime trauma—if we had more letters or insight into her life before the war, we might have a clearer picture.
However, by the end of the book, we see a heartbreaking change in Nora. After the deaths of her remaining sons and the loss of her husband in 1922, her journal entries shift. Her grief becomes more evenly spread across all her sons, and she begins to mourn each of them with a sense of collective sorrow. Her earlier favoritism seems to fall away as the full weight of her loss sets in. The most devastating part is her expressed desire to join them—an indication of the depth of her despair and a poignant reminder of how war devastates not just those who fight, but those left behind.
The Way Home explores themes of grief, sacrifice, patriotism, and the way war reshapes personal and national memory. It's a sobering reminder of the human cost of conflict—especially when told through voices that were silenced too soon.
I’d recommend this book to anyone interested in WWI history, especially readers looking for firsthand accounts from soldiers and their families. It's particularly relevant for those curious about Scottish contributions to the war effort, especially the Highland Light Infantry. This isn’t just a military history—it’s a family history, and one that resonates long after the last page.
Displaying 1 of 1 review