The I Love CVille Show With Jerry Miller! - Annelise Brand Joined Marc Hunt Live On “A Life, Unedited” On The I Love CVille Network!

Episode Date: April 16, 2026

Annelise Brand, Business Owner, Wife, Mother, joined Marc Hunt live on A Life, Unedited! A Life, Unedited airs live Wednesday from 10:15 pm – 11:00 am on The I Love CVille Network. “A Life, Unedited” is presented by Martha Jefferson House.

Good morning. My name is Mark Hunt, and this is a life unedited. In this podcast, I sit down with remarkable people to talk about their lives, their perspectives, honestly without the filter of hindsight. Today, I am very honored to have Annalise Brand. Annalise is a mother, a wife, and an independent business owner. Annalise, thank you so much for being here. My pleasure.

You grew up in the time of World War II, the beginning of World War II? I was three when the war started, and I lived on a small island in the south, east of Denmark, on the Baltic Sea. And it was a beautiful island, but I didn't realize that until years later. But I remember the morning the Nazis flew in over. island and it was very noisy and I didn't know what it was

but my father looked very upset and so that made me realize that it was something serious how did life change do you remember life changing day to day? No we were

in a way lucky because it was a very fertile little island and the army got a lot of vegetables, meat, beef, chicken, etc. from us, so they didn't hurt us. But I didn't know this was life. I just thought that's what it is. And it was a very quiet little island. There were no other children as far as I knew. Partly, I think, in retrospect, because parents didn't want their children out because there were soldiers around. And it was just very peaceful and nice. And, you know, I didn't miss anything because I didn't know it existed.

We had no radio, newspapers, television, because that wasn't allowed. So you grew up for... for a few years, I guess, probably 10 years? And do you remember them when the occupation was over? I only remember that a lot of people were out, whom I had never seen, and we were walking with Danish flags under the birch trees, which had just started,

you know, beech trees, which had just started getting their leaves, and it was beautiful. Everybody was free. Made it, yeah. That's incredible. You were the oldest of three siblings. What kind of responsibility did that carry for you?

Not really any responsibility other than I had to take care of myself. My mother had the babies, I mean, one after the other, and she also had a lot of medical problems. My father was in the underground, I mean, helping Jews getting out. And so I was pretty much on my own and learned. I mean, that's just the way it was. That's crazy. You were the oldest, and then next was your brother? My brother, and then two more sisters.

Two more sisters, so one was four. Wow, it's a big family. Your mom did have her hands. do you think that experience made you more independent throughout the rest of your life? Do you think that experience of being the oldest and happened to take care of yourself made you more independent for the rest of your life?

Yes, yeah. I always have been and thought that's just what it's like. It was not as if I were missing anything. Yeah. You told me about a time when you were in early high school where your teacher approached your father

and recommended that you go to college. Yeah, and my father said, oh, she doesn't need to. She's just a girl, and she just needs to find a husband who can afford a bottle of red line on Sundays. I can see him, and I'll never forget it. And the teacher was,

head of the school was wonderful, and he got me a job as an apprentice in the local bank. and that was a four-year apprenticeship. And that was almost the equivalent, in retrospect, of an education, at a high school, college education. And I liked it, and it was numbers, and that's always been my thing.

So, lucky. That teacher definitely stepped in. Yeah. So obviously you felt limited by those experiences. by not having that education. I didn't feel limited. You didn't feel limited. You feel like that inspired you more to make sure that...

It was... I just dealt with things as they came along. And, you know, so that one path closes, the other one opens. And I never had any problem finding ways to proceed. Well, that's incredible, because you were on a small island and then an opportunity arose

for you to become an opair in London. Yes. How did that happen? Well, when I was finishing the four-year apprenticeship or towards the end of it, I played table tennis and our team was going somewhere and I was sitting reading the paper on the train

and the coach said, why are you reading ads? You have a good job. And I said, yeah, but I really would like to travel and take the next step to something. And he said, well, why don't you? I said, because if I get a job as an uppayer, I can't afford to pay my taxes in Denmark. And he said, he happened to be working for the equivalent of the IRS. And he said, if you leave, you don't have to pay your taxes until you get back. So I applied for a job that night with an American family in London as an up pair. And I got the job, and I went there.

How was your English at that time? I had had English in school for, four or five. English was taught very, very early. But I managed. And obviously, I was sort of lucky because there were several other Danish or pears who came partly because I knew them and friends of Allison's needed somebody. But anyway, they sort of relied on me to help them because I had been there first. And it met my English increased, whereas they often sort of didn't.

And I liked it. That's incredible. How long did you work for that family? A year. A year. Except as I was leaving in May, she said, you should stay for another couple of months

because we are going to the beach in France, and I think you would enjoy coming. I said, sure, and I went, and it was nice. We also traveled a little, and we were in Paris. But on the beach, I was sitting watching the girls who were just playing. I didn't have to do anything. And Allison came, and she said, you didn't bring a book. And I said, no, I didn't bring a Danish book to London for a year and then here.

She said, well, I have one you may borrow. and she brought me the book and I devoured it and it was war in peace and I've been reading ever since. That's incredible. Your first English book is the warm piece. That's remarkable. Coincidence.

That's remarkable. So after you did your year as an opier, what did you do after that? What did you do next? I then went to Copenhagen and worked for a big international bank. Nice. And that was fun. It was nice.

And then after a couple of years, computers started getting introduced. And I wasn't really too interested. I'd like to do figures manually. But anyway, Allison kept writing me, saying, you should come to the States. I'll sponsor you. And one point she said, you know, I'll go ahead and do it because it takes a year. And the year was finished.

I had the visa, and I waited a couple more months. And I thought, oh, okay. And I had a boyfriend, and he said, oh, you are not leaving. And I said, yes, I am. And he said, okay, and I wanted to trip out of experience a little new. And so I was going to take a boat from Holland to Canada. And he said, I'll drive you to Holland. And I remember in the morning he said, you're coming back.

You're not leaving. I had to go on board the ship about four hours before it left. And so I went on board. took a sleeping pill. I haven't seen him since. And I went, and it was in May, so the weather was horrible on the way the last day or two.

But the Canadian hockey team was on board, and they weren't seasick, and I wasn't seasick. And so I had a good time. And then I took a grey hump, bus from Canada to New York. And I arrived in New York in the morning, maybe late morning. And I went over to a cab, and he said, where are you going? And I said, I don't know. I need a reservation in a hotel. And he said, oh, I can't take you. And so I dragged my suitcase. It was before the wheels.

And the next driver said, same thing, I can't take you. And then he stopped and said, where are you from? I said, Denmark. He said, okay, get in the front seat. He took my suitcase and put it in the trunk. And he drove from small hotel to hotel and went in and came out and said, they're booked. Finally he came out, said, okay, I found you a room.

You go in and you lock your door. and you don't open it for anybody, and I'll pick you up at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. Wow. And he did and took me on a tour of Manhattan and back to the Greyhound bus where I then went to Washington where Allison lived. Wow.

So it was an adventure. It wasn't just a trip. Wow. And... What an incredible adventure, and you're so brave. No, no. That's not, that's just what it was like, and you do it. And I was lucky.

I am guessing the cab driver was Jewish or had some, I don't know. But then I got the job in the bank, and after a couple of weeks, I still risk just being a teller. Did they not give you an opportunity to get promoted? I asked, and they said, you are a girl, no. So I looked around, and by sheer coincidence, I found a job with an office that was connected to all the Scandinavian embassies, and I got the job,

and so I gave the bank two weeks' notice, being nice. And they fired me on the spot. Later that bank went out of business. Karma. I didn't regret that. And then I worked in that office for, I don't know, three or four years, something like that. You met your husband during this time, right? Yes, I did. At one point, the head of that little office was an alcoholic. And there was one other woman working there. And she left. So I was alone doing all the work.

And I went to the embassy and I said, sorry, I can't keep doing this. And they said, hire somebody. And I couldn't find any Scandinavian. so I finally found a really nice American girl. And I thought, yeah, we'll be friends. And it was during that time that Kennedy was assassinated. Yeah. And she had some friends visiting,

and she asked if I would put them up for the night in my apartment. And I said, sure. And I slept on the couch. And the second night, this nice, attractive man came and picked them up and was going to take them to his house for a party. And he didn't invite me, which, you know, those days, and we were early 20s. But I thought, okay, that's what it is. And the next morning he called and said, I'm sorry, I didn't invite you.

I didn't want you to talk to other people. I wanted to have a chance to talk to you. So he invited me out. And this was, it must have been early December. And we were engaged in January and married in May. And his mother was not happy. And it was a wedding in. Denmark.

It was in Denmark. Yeah. They all came to Denmark. And it was a very small wedding, and dinner was at my grandparents' dining room. Yeah. And to be fair, he was a Harvard graduate and old New England family. And his barefooted immigrant girl was not what the parents had wanted. But they came around.

I got a letter from her later. saying you have been a good wife to my son and I appreciate it. That's really significant, actually. Yeah, yeah. And then you had, was Michael your oldest? Your son Michael? No, my oldest is Kirsten, who lives in California. Okay.

And she's the neuropsychologist who went here to UVA, yeah. How long were you married when you had Kirsten? three years. And we were living in D.C.? Yes, yes. And we moved around there a little bit. Oh, and we went to New Jersey. We lived in Princeton for a year.

He worked for the government. And in New Jersey, he was working for the government that wanted to have the different universities specialized on different lawyers, dentists, what have you, before that, each university had all the different things, and it meant they were not quite as good, diluted. So he enjoyed that for a year. Then you already moved back to D.C. So you went back to D.C. Were you still working at the embassy when you went back? Oh, no, I stopped working when I got married.

Yeah. Yeah, he was busy. Yeah, the kids are a full-time job. Yeah. Times two. Then you told me really, when we were getting to know each other and I was coming up with these questions, you told me about your relationship ending very amicably

with your first husband, and you had a very unique situation that you live close to each other so that your kids could walk to and from each other's... Oh, we stayed very good friends. It was not just for the kids. But yes, we stayed. He got married a little earlier than I did. He had been working with this woman for many years,

and they were friends, and anyway, they continued working at EPA from when they first started. and my kids liked them and it was never a problem and we would have dinners and lunches together every now and then. I just say this is really unique. Well, I don't know. It was good for us and for the kids, but it was not something we sort of decided on. It was just what it was.

And then I met my second husband and he was. was wonderful too. I've been very, very lucky. What was your second husband's name? Joe. Joe. Was he from D.C. as well? Oh, yes. Well, actually, he lived right outside, but he worked for a law firm in D.C. And I didn't really like to live in Great Falls. It was too isolated.

I tried to start a book group, and I went to a swimming pool, and met a woman, I said, would you like to join? And she said, oh, yeah, I've never read a book. Well, I thought that wasn't quite what I was looking for. And anyway, I finally persuaded him to move into D.C. And we had a house in Georgetown, and he could walk to work, and it was wonderful. Oh, man, I would give you anything to live in Georgetown. Yeah.

George's beautiful. So did you marry him in D.C.? Was the wedding here in D.C.? Or did you go back to Denmark for the second? Oh, no, no, no. We had a very small, nice wedding at his house in Great Falls, which was beautiful at a big land and the pond and horses. It was nice.

but it was lonely and I liked the city. Well, unfortunately, you lost your husband. Was it five years ago? Four years ago. Your life changed pretty dramatically after that. Yes, I lived here in Charlottesville, and I don't remember a whole lot. I think I was in sort of a haze.

Yeah, I missed him really badly. Still do, but I thought, oh, I should do something. I get away from my busy life. And so I moved to Massachusetts to a retirement home there. And that's where my youngest daughter lived, who had a little girl. And that was delightful. The house I lived in had over 100 people. and the hallways were long and white

and no pictures of chairs or books the way they do at Martha Jefferson House. And I also, when the women I talked to my generation, they heard that I had businesses, I somehow just didn't fit in. And I remember even at the time when I started my businesses, the women would go to my husband and say, how can you let her do that? But the people were nice. So did you start the businesses in D.C.?

Oh, in D.C. when I was married to my first husband. What kind of businesses were there? Well, very close to where we lived near American University. They were building a new building that had doctors upstairs. pediatricians, obstetricians, et cetera. And I opened the children's clothing store. And two years later,

in the mid-70s, late-70s, pregnant women could continue working, which they hadn't been able to for a long time. But they had to be dressed. So open a maternity store. And then I decided my children, children were my favorite, so I had a third child.

And then another two years later, I opened the children's shoe store in the building to keep everybody in there. Wow. And, yeah, it was fun. That's incredible to go from not being allowed to go to college. Practical thinking. It does not have much to do with today you're Googled, so who needs a college education. True. Well, it's changing. Well, that's really incredible and significant.

Well, I got to meet you almost a year ago. Well, I met your son Michael first and your daughter-in-law, Erica. And then I got to meet you. You came down from Massachusetts and toured Martha Jefferson House. I didn't know he had been over there before. So, yeah, they were definitely trying to get you down here. Yes. Yeah, close to these grandkids.

How is the transition at first, moving from Massachusetts to here? Well, it was a little hard because I no longer had a car. I had started getting really wobbly. I fell a couple of times and were in the emergency room twice in Massachusetts. So I sold the car before I gave it to my granddaughter, because I didn't want to have an accident. But then I got strep throat and I got an antibiotic and it took care of my imbalance.

I didn't do that earlier. But I missed my car coming down here because I knew the area and I knew so many places I could go but I couldn't. And slowly I've gotten in contact with the different people in the building I used to live in, have a coffee for the women every month. And I've been invited and get picked up and dropped off. And so I go to that. And then also going out for dinner with them occasionally. And people from Washington who were friends are coming down to see me. And

it's like having a life again. And I also have learned to use little. Lift. I'm still a little stuck, but... Well, I have a few more questions for you, and these are kind of legacy questions. How, what, well, that's a wrong picture. When you look back at your life, across countries, your careers, your relationships, what are you the most proud of? My kids. Kids.

No doubt. Of course, absolutely. Completely understand. When you, years from now, when your children and grandchildren think and talk about you, what do you want them to say? What do you want them to think and remember? Just who I was and that I loved them and they knew they could count on me and I don't know what else. Well, I mean, they definitely could count on him.

You're a wonderful human being. I don't want them to miss regret or feel badly. or, I mean, I don't know what I can do for them, but I would do it. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to do this. Tell me your story about your life. It's really significant. Sorry. My name is Mark Hunt.

This is a life unedited. It is a podcast where I get to interview remarkable people like Mrs. Brand. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.