About the Author

PHYLLIS JOHNSTON lives in Hamilton and has three adult children. She enjoys reading, walking, gardening and having visitors.

‘Until ten years old, I was drenched in World War II. With a Japanese invasion imminent and two brothers serving overseas, in the NZ Army and Airforce, the BBC news ruled our lives.

‘An aunt wanted to adopt me – the eighth of nine children – at birth. My mother clutched me in her arms and said she could never give away a child.

‘As a child I thrilled on hearing this story and imagined what it would be like to be an only daughter and not the youngest of five girls. I wondered what it was like to be adopted. This was the setting for Brother Sister Soldier Cousin: a girl’s quest for identity against a background of war.’