The death of a loved one can be very dramatic. And if the death is unexpected it can be even more devastating. In the novel The Forerunner, Edmund Ausmus has lived his life shadowed not only by guilt he has felt since the death of his brother Richard during World War II, but also by the anger he had directed toward his father whom he partly blamed for his brother’s death.
After a twenty-one year self-imposed exile, Edmund returns to his childhood home in the hopes that by sharing his feelings with his sister Cordelia he might come to terms with his guilt and anger. But the reunion with Cordelia raises more questions than answers when she informs him that Richard never intended on returning from the war, that he wanted to die there. Confused and unsettled by the news, Edmund embarks on a journey to find the truth concerning his brother’s death.
Through conversations Edmund has with Cordelia, and by confronting memories of his past, Edmund learns things about his family he never knew. The secrets Edmund uncovers begins to shed light on the reasons some of the events of the past had transpired the way they had. And by delving even deeper into Richards past and by talking with those who knew Richard before the war, Edmund is able to learn the unsettling secret which drove Richard to the choice he made about his life. When his journey is complete Edmund is able to reconcile himself with the past and accept his place in the family he for years had run away from.
