Why I’m Writing This Book

I grew up hearing fragments of my dad, Clem’s story—my family’s story—told around tables, shared on the banks of the Kei River, spoken from pulpits around the globe, whispered between memories of war, faith, and survival. But these, mere fragments of the full story, left too many silences.

A Long Way Home is my attempt to give voice to those silences.

Clem was just a boy from a small town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa when he enlisted. Driven by a mixture of courage and innocence, he lied about his age, slipping a note into his shoe with the number 18 written on it to ease his conscience when he told the WWII recruiting office that he was “over 18”. With his father’s forged signature, he signed up to fight in a war he hardly understood.

What followed was an extraordinary journey through deserts, prison camps, daring escape attempts, betrayals, and moments of unexpected kindness—experiences that challenged not only his body but also the core of his being.

I wrote this book because memory is fragile. Too often, the quiet resilience, emotional scars, and darkest shadows of ordinary soldiers are overshadowed by the grand narratives of history. Clem’s story—of faith, fear, stubborn courage, and the will to survive—belongs not only to my family but to all of us who wonder how we endure and overcome even the unthinkable.

See the Story Come Alive — Watch the Video

Why A Long Way Home might just be the right book for You!

The book’s greatest strength is its layered appeal—it works simultaneously as military history, personal memoir, spiritual journey, cultural exploration, and adventure narrative. This multi-dimensionality means it is attractive to different segments, emphasizing different aspects, significantly broadening its potential readership beyond any single category.

General Appeal:

• Coming-of-age readers drawn to narratives about young people finding themselves through adversity and transitioning from adolescence to adulthood under pressure
• Adventure and survival enthusiasts who enjoy tales of extreme conditions, human endurance, and survival against the odds
• Armchair travelers fascinated by vivid descriptions of South African landscapes, Egyptian harbors, North African deserts, and journeys across continents
• Inspirational story seekers looking for uplifting narratives about human resilience, hope in dark circumstances, and the power of faith and family bonds

Thematic Interest:

• Readers exploring moral complexity, ethical questions of family loyalty vs. national duty, inherited vs. chosen identity, and the costs of war
• Those grappling with dual/conflicted identity, divided loyalties, cultural tension, or questions about belonging
• Readers dealing with loss, grief, separation, or displacement who will resonate with themes of the preciousness of home

Historical & Military:

• WWII history enthusiasts, particularly those interested in the North African campaign and South African contributions to the Allied effort
• Desert warfare enthusiasts fascinated by Rommel, the Afrika Korps, and the unique tactical challenges of desert combat
• POW history specialists focused on Stalag experiences, prisoner-of-war conditions, and escape attempts
• Military families who understand deployment stresses, separation, and how service transforms individuals
• Afrikaners and Boer War descendants interested in the evolution from fighting the British to fighting alongside them.

Cultural & Literary:

• Post-colonial literature readers interested in how colonialism, apartheid, and racial hierarchies shaped individual lives
• Literary fiction readers who appreciate well-crafted prose, vivid imagery, and narrative techniques, regardless of genre
• Fans of similar works like Unbroken, The Railway Man, All Quiet on the Western Front, The Long Walk, or Endurance
• Small-town story enthusiasts fascinated by how global events impact remote communities

Educational:

• Book clubs seeking rich discussion material on faith, identity, loyalty, family, and courage
• Educators looking for accessible historical narratives that illuminate lesser-known aspects of WWII.

Inside you’ll find:

• A boy who lied about his age to enlist—too young to fight, but old enough to bleed.
• The fall of Tobruk and the brutal march into captivity that followed.
• Daring escapes under cover of darkness, acts of sabotage and quiet resistance, bitter betrayals—and the extraordinary courage of strangers like Angelo, an Italian boy who risked his life to help two men he barely knew.
• The ultimate sacrifice of a best friend who willingly laid down his life so that Clem might live.
• Prison camps where faith was tested in the crucible of suffering—and sometimes, against all odds, renewed.
• A story of resilience and survival, and the long, uncertain journey back to freedom.
• The transformative power of faith to lift a man from the guttermost depths of brokenness to the pinnacle of human significance and global influence.

This isn’t just a war story. It’s a human story—real, raw, and unforgettable. Told so we never forget.

Why I Need You

I could keep this story within my family’s and Clem’s circle —but I don’t want to.

I want to share it with you: readers who understand that stories of resilience, faith, and survival aren’t just worth telling—they’re worth preserving.

When you support this campaign, you’re doing more than preordering a book. You’re investing in something bigger:

Professional editing, design, and production that honors the weight and dignity of Clem’s journey.

A personal audio interview that carries his story in his own voice—so future generations can hear the man behind the words.

Strategic marketing to reach the readers, families, and veterans who need this story most—the ones who will see themselves in its pages.

A platform for preservation—because stories like Clem’s are disappearing, and we’re running out of time to save them.

A community of readers who believe in the power of true stories, and a support network that makes independent publishing not just possible, but sustainable.

This isn’t just about one book. It’s about what we choose to remember—and who we choose to remember with.

What You Get (Perks & Packages)

What You Get (Perks & Packages)

Every backer will receive:

• A digital thank-you.
• An early electronic edition of A Long Way Home 
• A signed soft cover edition of the book

Depending on your package, you may also receive:

• All of the above.
• A BOGO soft cover to share.
• A copy of Clem’s 80 page signed soft cover 31 day devotional based on summaries of his experiences written in his own words.
• Your name in the acknowledgments.
• Access to a live Q&A about the making of the book.
• Behind-the-scenes research notes and archival photos.
• A downloadable MP3 of Clem personally telling the story.
• A downloadable MP43 video of a powerful interview with Clem shortly before his passing.
• A future possible signed hard copy of the book
• A personal invitation to one of the launch venues (to be announced)
• An exclusive limited edition NFT (Non Fungable Token) of Clem’s war medals. This is a crypto token that could carry future investment value (disclaimer: This is not an investment recommendation. It is a free perk related to your support of the project)

This campaign runs  from 6 October 2025 to 10 November.

After that, some of the bonuses—like acknowledgments and early access—will not be available again.

If you’re ready to be part of something meaningful… now’s the moment.

Thank you for reading. For remembering. For keeping these stories alive.

This isn’t just my family’s history—it’s a piece of all of ours.

JUMP ON BOARD TODAY

Meet Gordon

Gordon Goetsch was born in Stutterheim, a small German town in South Africa, as the oldest son of Clemence and Phylis Goetsch. At twenty-one, he met Janice at the church where his father served as pastor. They married in 1973 and began building a life together that would span continents and careers.

After welcoming their first three children—Sean, Candice, and Wendy—Gordon and Janice made the bold decision to emigrate to the United States in 1985. Their family would eventually grow to include two more children, Jonathan and Michelle, along with two daughters-in-law, Anna and Jamie, and eight grandchildren who remain central to Gordon’s life today.

Early Career and Education

Gordon spent his first decade as a banking and finance professional before transitioning into entrepreneurship, where he pursued several successful ventures. However, in 1985, he and Janice made another life-altering decision: they retired from corporate involvement to pursue full-time Christian ministry.

Their move to the United States was driven partly by a desire to further their education. By 1991, Gordon and Janice had earned multiple graduate and post-graduate degrees in theology, education, counseling, arts, and communications. Rather than returning to South Africa, they remained in the U.S., where Gordon pastored a church in San Antonio for seven years. This was followed by a four-year missionary assignment back in South Africa before returning to corporate America as a consultant in 2003.

A Transformative Journey

In 2008, Gordon embarked on what would become a defining chapter of his life. He and Janice began immersing themselves in life-changing leadership and success principles through books, audio programs, and association with experts ranked among the Top 50 in Leadership & Management—people who had achieved the results they were seeking.

This period marked a profound internal shift for Gordon. Despite his impressive credentials—a PhD in theology, hundreds of postgraduate hours across multiple disciplines, and decades of business and ministry experience—he came to a startling realization: there was a disconnect between who he believed himself to be and who he truly was at his core.

“My thinking was broken and needed to be transformed,” Gordon reflects. “I had preached and taught about the renewing of the mind so many times, but never realized the extent to which my own thinking needed transformation.”

The catalyst came through an unexpected source: a couple from Dallas named Kirk and Nicole Porter. When they invited Gordon and Janice to examine “something” they were involved in, Gordon’s initial reaction was dismissive. The Porters seemed inexperienced, and Gordon felt he had paid his dues—surely they couldn’t teach him anything new.

“But that night something went right,” Gordon recalls. “Somehow they got me to commit and started investing in our lives.”

What followed was a systematic dismantling of old thought patterns and the rebuilding of a new framework for living. Through reading, listening, associating with the right people, and implementing what he learned, Gordon began to understand why he had never found true freedom. He had been busy yet broke, preaching sermons with little substance, engaged in constant activity but few real accomplishments, surrounded by fellowship but with few genuine friends. His marriage had nearly ended multiple times during the first twenty years.

Over three years of transformation, Gordon discovered he could become someone truly loved and admired by family and friends—someone who could leave a legacy of meaningful influence. He found that in just a few years of this new approach, he and Janice impacted more people for Christ and better living than in ten years of traditional pastoring. Most importantly, he learned to be a husband, dad, and friend first, and a pastor-teacher second. He discovered that true friendship is a priceless gift to be guarded and nurtured without compromise.

Life Today

Today, Gordon and Janice coach and mentor people from all walks of life, teaching leadership principles grounded in their academic qualifications in theology, education, communication arts, and neuroscience research. They reach people through public speaking forums, social media, and numerous written publications.

Gordon continues to live life on the precipice, outside the “safe” zone—though the focus has evolved. Whether he’s preaching, mentoring, coaching, fishing, hunting, hiking through jungles, driving fast cars, or “loving the heck out of his grandchildren,” he brings maximum intensity to everything he does. He works hard and plays hard, driven by a belief that the world needs more entrepreneurs and deep thinkers.

Gordon reaches out to anyone with a hunger to have fun, make money, and make a difference—inviting them to join him in a life fully lived.

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📚 Frequently Asked Questions