On Wednesday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m., the Rockport Public Library will host Maine author Barbara Kent Lawrence for an event introducing her new book, Both Sides of the Pond — My Family’s War: 1933 – 1946. The presentation will incorporate artifacts and highlight the author’s “Ah-ha” moments while conducting background research.

The book tells the story of Lawrence’s mother Barbara Greene, a young British actress who met Joe Kennedy, Jr. (son of the American Ambassador) in January of 1939. Their relationship would lead to her emigrating to the United States and learning to pilot a plane. The book also cover the experiences of Lawrence’s uncle Kent (Barbara Green’s brother), his bitter retreat from Dunkirk when he left England in January 1940 to fight in France, and his subsequent service on the frontlines in Cornwall, North Africa, Sicily, and Burma.

Evan Thomas, author of two New York Times best-selling books, including Road to Surrender states, “Barbara Lawrence has given us an intimate, harrowing, and vivid portrait of two young people engulfed by a world war . . . For anyone who wants to know what it is really like to have your world turned upside down, read this book and be shocked, thrilled, and moved.”

Barbara Kent Lawrence earned a BA in anthropology from Bennington College, an MA in sociology from New York University, and an EdD from Boston University. She taught anthropology and history in a boys’ high school, then cofounded and ran a real-estate and construction firm in Northeast Harbor, Maine. After receiving her EdD., she taught writing and education courses at Northeastern and Lesley universities in Boston. Both Sides of the Pond is Lawrence’s ninth book.