Book
My intention has always been to write a book about my grandfather, Otto Max. My Aunt Joan and I spent decades delving into his past. The trouble had always been finding a quiet moment to sit down and begin compiling all our research. Looking back on the upheaval of the COVID years, the one silver lining was the way the world came to a complete halt. Suddenly, available time spread out before me, and so, at last, began my writing journey.
The Search for Otto Max: A Genealogical Memoir
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The Search for Otto Max is a genealogical memoir in which I seek to finally resolve all the questions I have had over the years about my German grandfather. In the course of discovering his life story, I have gained a broader perspective of the times he lived in, as well as a better understanding of World War I.
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The only information my father and his sisters were aware of came in the form of snippets disclosed now and then by their mother. As a child, I was always full of questions about my father's father, Otto Max Whitstock, especially once my grandmother had burned almost everything there was to know about him. ​If Grandma had hoped this would put an end to any further questions about her long-deceased husband, her wastebasket bonfire had the opposite effect. In fact, not only did it further spark my curiosity, her actions also ignited Aunt Joan's interest. What followed were decades of research with my Aunt Joan.
In learning the story of my grandfather, Otto Max Whitstock, I unearthed a portrait of a German man who became a British citizen and then an American during the tumultuous years of World War I. Along the way, I also discovered many genealogical tips and resources which I am happy to pass on to readers on a similar journey.