Memoirs Books

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Book SynopsisFrom the host of Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino comes a collection of stories you'll be glad didn't happen to you.Think of the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you. Was it the time your high school cheer squad taunted you in front of the entire town? Was it the time your best friend's mom caught you streaking in all your naked, self-conscious glory? What about the time you accidentally threw a tooth at your dry cleaner or took an urn into Kohl's for some holiday shopping? For Danny Pellegrino, the answer is all of the above.Growing up as a closeted gay kid in small-town Ohio wasn't easy, and Danny has the stories to prove it. But coming of age in the 90s still meant something magical to Danny. The music, film, and celebrity moments of his youth were truly iconic, and his love for all things pop culture connected him to a world larger than the one he knew in the suburban Midwest. And through all the pains of growing up, Danny could always look to that world for hope-whether that meant bingeing The Nanny until he had the confidence of Fran Fine, belting out Brandy songs until his heartaches were healed, or watching semi-clothed Ryan Phillippe scenes until his cheeks burned from blushing.With refreshing honesty and jaw-dropping absurdity, Danny invites readers to experience his most formative moments in life-from his hometown in Ohio to his hit podcast and career in entertainment today. How Do I Un-Remember This? is an unfiltered and all-too-relatable glimpse into Danny's life and the heartfelt and hilarious moments that shaped it. Although he wouldn't change them for the world, these stories are-unfortunately-true.

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Book SynopsisTwo daughters, who are identical twins decided to document the life of their adopted father (Papi). They share some of the greatest lessons learned from Papi which helped shaped their lives. These lessons are captured during intimate moments where Papi describes his childhood, moving to the United States, navigating the workforce, and love and marriage. The lessons on maintaining a healthy marriage and raising a family are invaluable. We also explore the importance of rising above challenges with humility. You will be intrigued with his love and level of commitment to his wife who was diagnosed with Alzheimer''s. Until her passing in 2021 he kept his promise to never leave her side. This included never placing her in a skilled nursing facility. Papi became her caregiver for over 10 years and when he was forced to have back surgery (Spinal Stenosis). His two daughters quickly moved in to care for Mami. Papi was in a rehabilitation center for many weeks and could not wait to recover so he could be reunited with his wife. You will be inspired by his life and appreciate the many lessons he shares.

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Book SynopsisA spirited 1950s travelogue that takes the reader around the world during a time when two independent young women travelling alone was considered almost revolutionary.Renate Belczyk was born in Dresden, Germany, in 1932. When she was three years old her family moved to Berlin, where they settled into a small apartment building on the outskirts of the city. It was in this building that she met another adventurous girl, Sigrid, with whom she would travel around the world as young women after the Second World War.Having spent most of their childhood and teenage years climbing trees, swimming, cycling, hiking, and adventuring around Germany the two young women attended a talk by the German writer Heinrich Böll. During his presentation the renowned author suggested to the crowd that they all travel to different countries and make friends with the locals whenever they could, as this would help prevent another war. Renate and Sigrid took this advice to heart, and from that point their adventures together took flight.Starting in 1955 and travelling for three years to England, France, Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Canada, Japan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Egypt, Turkey, Macedonia, and Greece, their adventures together culminated with their joint return to Germany in 1958. In 1959 Renate returned to the Canadian Rockies to work in the backcountry, and in 1960 she married mountaineer Felix Belczyk and settled in Castlegar, BC, where they raised three children.Our Trip Around the World is an endearing snapshot of the postwar era when adventure travel mountaineering, hiking, hitchhiking, and cycling was enticing those with adventurous spirits to experience the world like never before.

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Book SynopsisWorld-renowned ice climber Margo Talbot shares her compelling story of healing and self-discovery amid the frozen landscapes of the planet.Born and raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Margo Talbot grew up with a distant mother who ruled the household with her eyes; a father who opted to spend much of his time away from home; and four siblings struggling to deal with their particular domestic situation. As a result of her family's dysfunction and her own growing mental illness, young Margo rarely smiled, had difficulty connecting with others, and was plagued with a black wave of anger and sadness that overshadowed much of the world around her. In time, drugs, alcohol, sex, and violence became her primary ways to connect with herself and others.From the depths of suicidal depression and a conversation with Death, Talbot eventually found solace and redemption in both the healing power of nature and the glory of climbing frozen landscapes in some of the world's most pristine and challenging environments. Heartbreaking, honest, energizing, and inspiring All That Glitters is a remarkable memoir that shines a fresh light of hope on mental illness.

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Book SynopsisIn 1986, as part of a Canadian team, Sharon Wood became the first woman from the Americas to summit Mount Everestand the first woman in the world to do so via the West Ridge from Tibet and without Sherpa support. But it's how she got there that is truly compelling.In Rising, the personal motivation that drove Wood to reach further and further heights are detailed through the years leading up to the career-defining climb. Often the only woman on expeditions, Wood was an outlier in a predominantly male bastion of high altitude alpine climbing. Against the backdrop of the stunning Himalayan mountains in the days before Everest became as commercialized as it is today, Wood explores the camaraderie and rivalry, the relatable challenges of falling in and out of love, and how she kept her drive to persevere. Subsequently, she recounts how she struggled with unexpected acclaim and expectations following her ascent of Everest, but ultimately found fulfilment and her place in the world.As she tells her story today, her perspective is steeped in six decades of life experience rich with adrenalin, change, reflection and humility. It is a tale that still feels poignantly relevanta testament to the strength of the human spirit to overcome all obstacles, whether mountain peaks, social expectations or self-imposed barriers.

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Book SynopsisDrawing on her own experiences as a woman of Iranian and British Isle descent, writer Hollay Ghadery dives into conflicts and uncertainty surrounding the bi-racial female body and identity, especially as it butts up against the disparate expectations of each culture. Painfully and at times, reluctantly, Fuse probes and explores the documented prevalence of mental health issues in bi-racial women.

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Book SynopsisOne summer, shortly after taking a step back from an illustrious journal-ism career, Ian Haysom found himself in charge of his first grandchild, Mayana, who was three at the time. As a healthy, energetic member of the baby-boom generation, Haysom did not consider himself a typical granddad. He was too young, too active, too cool for a role more often associated with denture adhesive commercials and afternoon naps. But as he soon discovered, grandparenthood is more rewarding, entertaining, and exhausting than he ever could have imagined. Grandfathered chronicles Haysoms adventures with his grandkids Mayana, Emma, and Linden; explores the delightful and unexpected lessons they have taught him (and those he has attempted to teach them); and investigates the rapidly changing role of the grandparent in the twenty-first century. Through keen observations, hilarious anecdotes, and fascinating insights reminiscent of Bill Bryson (or Bill Bryson with a touch of arthritis, as Haysom quips), this charming memoir will resonate with boomer grandparents everywhere.

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Book SynopsisDavid Giblins stint as a seasonal salmon fishing guide on Stuart Island provides a seemingly endless supply of hilarious and bizarre stories that reveal as much about the quirkiness of small coastal communities as they do about human nature itself. Now, in his second book of short, interconnected stories set in the 1980s, Giblin introduces us to Gilly, the first female fishing guide to grace the tiny island, whose mere presence is enough to shake the foundations of the very insular, all-male guiding community. With the return of delight-fully eccentric characters including Vop, Troutbreath, Lucky Peterson, and Wet Lenny, this rollicking maritime adventure will appeal to anyone who ever gutted a fish and lived to tell the tale.

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Book SynopsisConrad Kain is a titan amongst climbers in Canada and is well-known in mountaineering circles all over the world. His letters to Amelie Malek-a life-long friend-offer a candid view into the deepest thoughts of the Austrian mountain guide, and are a perfect complement to his autobiography, Where the Clouds Can Go. The 144 letters provide a unique and personal view of what it meant to immigrate to Canada in the early part of the twentieth century. Kain's letters are ordered chronologically with annotations, keeping the sections in English untouched, while those in German have been carefully translated. Historians and mountain culture enthusiasts worldwide will appreciate Kain's genius for description, his passion for nature, his opinions, and his musings about his life. Foreword by Chic Scott. Epilogue by Don Bourdon.Trade Review"Zac Robinson’s edition of Conrad Kain: Letters from a Wandering Mountain Guide, 1906–1933 is an important new work. It is imbued with a level of intimacy that was edited out of Kain’s classic biography, Where the Clouds Can Go. Robinson's erudite annotations and freshly discovered photos help shed new light on the life and times of one of our country's greatest mountain guides and raconteurs." -- Pat Morrow * Chairman of the Conrad Kain Centennial Society *“… A must have book for those interested in Conrad Kain, 1st generation Canadian mountaineering and Canadian mountain culture. Conrad Kain: Letters from a Wandering Mountain Guide, 1906-1933 has a splendid assortment of maps and photographs, but the prize jewel of the book are the many letters (142) written by Conrad Kain.… The letters to Amelie are touching and tender, informative and insightful, historic and charming. .. [T]he Robinson and Bourdon contributions are like exquisite book ends within which the evocative letters make for the literary centrepiece.” [Full review at: http://www.conradkain.com/news/book-review-ron-dart] -- Ron Dart"Conrad Kain is a compelling title from University of Alberta Press. Kain is renowned among Canadian mountaineers as a pioneering guide so accomplished they named a British Columbia peak for him, Mount Conrad. He escaped grinding poverty as a miner’s son in rural Austria and travelled the world from Honolulu to Ulaanbaatar.... Conrad Kain: Letters From A Wandering Mountain Guide takes readers page by page through a man’s life and thoughts. It is a dark and absorbing narrative." [Full review at http://www.blacklocks.ca/book-review-the-unhappy-traveler] -- Holly Doan * Blacklock's Reporter *"In a culture that enjoys as many romantic figures as there are mountain peaks on the horizon as viewed from a lofty summit, Conrad Kain holds a special place in the historical landscape of western Canada's mountains. Robinson...makes no secret of his affection for Kain, and that's a good thing, because he handles the letters Kain wrote throughout his adult life while guiding in Canada and New Zealand to his dear friend in Austria, Amelie Malek, with the care and reverence they so richly deserve." -- Lynn Martel * Alpine Club of Canada Gazette *"Conrad Kain was arguably the pre-eminent mountain guide in Canada in the early years of the 20th century and left a legacy of first ascents and epic climbs in his native Austria, in his adopted home in North America (e.g., Mount Robson), and in New Zealand’s Southern Alps.... Robinson has ordered the letters chronologically and throughout the book has skillfully annotated them to fill in gaps or provide context.... From his letters, it’s obvious that Kain loved climbing mountains for the physical challenge, to meet interesting people, to make a living, and for opportunities to travel around the world, but most especially because of his all-consuming love of the natural world." Vol. 129, No. 1 (2015) [Full review at http://canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn] -- Cyndi M. Smith * The Canadian Field-Naturalist *"Simple, beautiful, and thoughtfully handled volume of letters. Though the content is historical in nature, the typography feels fresh and of this time--a nice complement to the old full-bleed photographs. The synopsis of events on the part openers provides a helpful overview of each section." -- Renate Gokl * Juror, AAUP Book, Jacket, and Journal Show *"... in the letters we find a Kain who is disarmingly open and honest about his life, his successes and his failures and this unscripted or unedited look into the life of a remarkable man continues throughout the book. As editor, Robinson [includes]... extensive and informative footnotes that provide context and create a broader historical story that fits Kain’s life into the events that occur around him while filling in any gaps in the narrative....Kain is one of those rare gems whose personality and reputation match. He is a great climber and a great person." [Full article at http://ow.ly/SlZcF] -- Rob Alexander * Rocky Mountain Outlook *"[Kain's letters] are rich in detail not only about his travels and climbs in the European, Siberian, Canadian, and New Zealand mountain ranges that involved staggering heights, immense walls of rock, steep glacier fields, icy crests, as well as sudden storms, rockslides, and avalanches. The letters also reflect the inner experience and yearnings of this mountain guide.... The book is enriched by fifty archival photographs mainly of mountains and people as well as by three helpful maps (xvi–xix). The 143 letters are amply annotated.... Reading these letters puts a wonderfully human face on an Austrian mountain guide's achievements and reveals as well his craft's challenges, defeats, and glories." -- Leo Schelbert * Yearbook of German American Studies *"Conrad Kain (1883–1934) was an acclaimed climber of his day. Born in Austria, he immigrated to Canada in 1909 and became known for his pioneering climbs in British Columbia. In 1906, Kain wrote a letter to Amelia Malek (1871–1941), an early student whom he had instructed in the ways of climbing in the Alps. For the rest of his life, Kain wrote to her, first from Austria and then from Canada. The present volume presents all 144 of Kain's letters to Malek. It is a one-sided correspondence marked by class differences—he was a guide, she an affluent tourist—and deep affection. The letters cover a wide range of topics, from the immigrant experience in Canada to his life in the far north to the joy he discovered in the Canadian Rockies. If the writing is rough, the descriptions of the mountains and nature are glorious.” -- R. W. Roberts * Choice Magazine *"Austrian Conrad Kain....became a celebrated guide and mountaineer, claiming sixty-one ascents in the Rockies. Kain was what we have come to call an economic migrant, a poor man looking for better wages and a modicum of financial security.... Throughout Kain’s life abroad, the written word was as important as wages to his sustenance.... Spanning the time from just before he set off for Canada until just before his death, these letters reveal something of the immigrant experience, of the loneliness single men like Kain felt, the solace and sadness that news from home brought, and the desire to return, if only for a visit." [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/621168] -- Tina Loo and Meg Stanley * The Canadian Historical Review *"Kain is a major figure in the history of Canada’s Alpine West. His name endures alongside those of later adventurers in the Bugaboos.... His exploits are familiar to lovers of the Rockies: Mount Robson, Mount Louis, North Twin.... Robinson’s edition consists of newly unearthed letters from Kain to Amelie Malek.... Malek’s letters have not survived, but Kain’s correspondence is effervescent.... The letters register his remarkable zest and on occasion his prejudices. They evoke a bygone time of hemp ropes but also depict aspects of life in a new country.... Devotees of the high country will enjoy the letters’ adventure and charm; literary critics will delight in certain details." Canadian Literature 232 (Spring 2017) [Full review at http://canlit.ca/article/letters-from-iceland] -- Nicholas BradleyTable of ContentsCONTENTS Foreword Conrad Kain, Guide and Mountaineer Chic Scott Acknowledgements Maps Austria; the Canadian Rockies and Columbias; the Southern Alps of New Zealand Introduction Letters from the Archives Part One A Young Guide in Europe, 1906–1909 Part Two Your Friend in the Western Woods, 1909–1912 Part Three The Wanderer, 1912–1916 Part Four With Greetings, From Wilmer, 1920–1933 Epilogue The Kain-Malek Correspondence: Provenance, 1934–2005 Don Bourdon Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis“The terrified yell of my comrades makes me stop. I drop the potatoes into the grass and turn around. He has pulled out the pistol and is taking aim. Slowly I come back.” Surviving the Gulag is the first-person account of a resourceful woman who survived five grueling years in Russian prison camps: starved, traumatized, and worked nearly to death. A story like Ilse Johansen’s is rarely told—of a woman caught in the web of fascism and communism at the end of the Second World War and beginning of the Cold War. The candid story of her time as a prisoner, written soon after her release, provides startling insight into the ordeal of a German female prisoner under Soviet rule. Readers of memoir and history, and students of feminism and war studies, will learn more about women’s experience of the Soviet gulag through the eyes of Ilse Johansen. Introduction by Michael Seadle.Trade Review"Surviving the Gulag is an unflinching story of being a German woman in the very places that have been written about by so many men." [Full review at http://www.ralphmag.org/JC/gulag.html] -- Lolita Lark * RALPH Magazine *Table of ContentsTranslator’s Preface ix Hans Rudolf Gahle r Acknowledgements xi Karin and Rex Marshall Editor’s Introduction xiii Heather Marshall Introduction xxix Michael Seadle Surviving the Gulag 1 Index 239

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Book SynopsisTony Robinson-Smith, his wife Nadya, and ten Bhutanese college students set out to run 578 kilometres (360 miles) across the Kingdom of Bhutan in the Himalayas. Joined by a stray dog, they slogged over five mountain passes, bathed in ice-clogged streams, ate over log fires, and stopped at every store, restaurant, guesthouse, and dzong to raise money for the Tarayana Foundation. The “Tara-thon” was the first endeavour of its kind and gave 350 village children the chance to go to school. En route, the Long Distance Dozen met a Buddhist lama, a royal prince, a Tibetan renegade, and a matriarch who told them the secret to long life. On arrival in Thimphu, they were decorated by Her Majesty the Queen. In this contemplative memoir, Tony describes Bhutan in rich detail at a transformative period in its history and reflects on tradition, belief, modernization, and happiness. See the book trailer at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-VsWAbTHAQTrade ReviewA worthy addition to the canon of running memoirs. An unprecedented journey across a singular spiritual landscape, enlivened by Robinson-Smith’s keen eye for detail, beautiful prose, and remarkable endurance. A travelogue that takes seriously its responsibility to its hosts. Thoughtful, mindful, compelling. -- Award Committee * Nonfiction Prize, New Brunswick Book Awards *"Robinson-Smith's account of the Tara-thon is lively, richly detailed and unvarnished... [The] imagination is caught by what Robinson-Smith reveals about the society itself, Bhutan's history, the wary insularity of its mountain fastness, the harsh demands of life there, the delightfully appealing economic measure known as Gross National Happiness, and the effects, good and bad, of increased contact with the modern world." Richard Cumyn, The Fiddlehead, November 2018 -- Richard Cumyn * The Fiddlehead *"Travel writing in Canada is alive, well, and robustly athletic.... Robinson-Smith does a good job of juxtaposing Western perceptions, both historic and modern, with the challenges faced by the Bhutanese..." [Full review at http://canlit.ca/article/running-and-riding-away/] -- Zöe Landale * Canadian Literature *Table of ContentsMap 1 Lama’s Blessing 2 Precious Teacher 3 “Long Distance Dozen” 4 Birth of an Idea 5 Royal Sanction 6 The Longest Climb 7 Clowns and Phalluses 8 Death of a Runner 9 Shabdrung Sheep 10 Yalama! 11 Cure for Our Sufferings 12 Bumpy Road to Wangdi 13 Tea with Her Majesty Epilogue Acknowledgements Notes Glossary

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Book SynopsisWhy couldn’t I occupy the world as those model-looking women did, with their flowing hair, pulling their tiny bright suitcases as if to say, I just arrived from elsewhere, and I already belong here, and this sidewalk belongs to me? When her marriage suddenly ends, and a diary documenting her beloved Opa’s escape from Nazi-occupied Netherlands in the summer of 1942 is discovered, Naomi Lewis decides to retrace his journey to freedom. Travelling alone from Amsterdam to Lyon, she discovers family secrets and her own narrative as a second-generation Jewish Canadian. With vulnerability, humour, and wisdom, Lewis’s memoir asks tough questions about her identity as a secular Jew, the accuracy of family stories, and the impact of the Holocaust on subsequent generations.Trade Review"Naomi is an incredibly talented writer and the loveliest of human beings. Her words are thought provoking and genuine. This is her journey to learn about her family history. Knowing who you are and understating where you come from can be a lifelong exploration." -- Andrea Kopylech"Tiny Lights for Travellers starts with a zit, percolating brightly on the nose of our author while she takes the transatlantic flight that begins the book. In a strange, unlikely, funny, unabashed and endearing way, this first image in Naomi K. Lewis's reluctant, almost anti-travel memoir encapsulates much of what her book is about." -- Laurie D. Graham"When Naomi Lewis was a child, no one in her family talked about the fact that her grandfather had escaped Nazi-occupied Europe, largely by foot and through the kindness of strangers. In fact, no one spoke much about that part of their family history, at all.""After her grandfather’s death, when Lewis’s parents were moving her grandmother into an assisted-living facility, they found a yellowed, type-written document: 30 foolscap pages in Dutch, and 30 pages translated into English. It recounted her grandfather’s escape [from Nazi occupation] into southern France. Lewis, a short story writer and novelist, transcribed her grandfather’s journal, and later traced her grandfather’s route, travelling from Amsterdam to Lyon, discovering family secrets along the way.""I just finished reading Tiny Lights for Travellers by Naomi K. Lewis and I can't recommend it enough.... [T]his book is beautifully written, immediate, entertaining, and engrossing."# 8 on Edmonton's Bestselling Books list; Non-fiction, December 01, 2019# 10 on Edmonton's Bestselling Books list; Non-fiction, September 20, 2020"Calgary author Naomi K. Lewis joins educator Abby Wener Herlin in conversation about her well-regarded memoir, Tiny Lights for Travellers. Nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Nonfiction in 2019, Tiny Lights for Travellers explores her Jewish identity while retracing her grandfather’s escape from the Nazi-occupied Netherlands." [https://www.straight.com/arts/family-stories-run-through-vancouvers-cherie-smith-jcc-jewish-book-festival] -- Charlie Smith * The Georgia Straight *#10 on the Calgary Non-fiction Bestsellers list, May 25, 2023#9 on the Calgary Non-fiction Bestsellers list, June 15, 2023

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Book SynopsisFour years after Therese Greenwood and her husband moved to Fort McMurray, Alberta, their new community was shattered by one of the worst wildfires in Canadian history. As the flames approached, they had only minutes to pack, narrowly escaping a fire that would rage for weeks, burn more than 85,000 hectares and force 80,000 people to flee.Trade Review# 1 on Edmonton Non-Fiction Bestsellers list, April 3, 2019"One of the greatest treasures in life may be to understand both where we have come from and who we have come to be. It seems that Therese’s reflections gave her some of those insights. Perhaps reading and reflecting with her might do the same for us." -- Bob Trube"...as evacuation orders were imposed and as the highway out of town swelled with traffic... [Greenwood] gathered an assortment of objects, from deeply meaningful mementos to items that initially appeared more random... Each of the objects she has retained is carefully considered and contextualized over a number of chapters that fuse past and present, family memories and local histories.... In this surprisingly gripping and deeply moving account, Greenwood considers how we re-establish normalcy in the wake of profound loss." [Full review at https://canlit.ca/article/precarious-places/] -- Heidi Tiedemann Darroch * Canadian Literature *"Greenwood's book, What You Take With You, is an amalgamation of life lessons on the resilience needed to recover emotionally and mentally following the May 2016 [wildfire] disaster.... The book analyzes what Greenwood took from her home as authorities began ordering the evacuation of Fort McMurray. She had only 15 minutes to grab what she needed.... Greenwood said each object she took in the frenzy of evacuation had a subconscious and special meaning for her.... Each chapter of her book explains the life lesson tied to these objects and how Greenwood applied those lessons to the aftermath of the fire." [Full article at https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/book-recounting-2016-fort-mcmurray-wildfire-nominated-for-award-1.5096318] -- Sarah Williscraft * Fort McMurray Today *Table of ContentsPrologue 1 Before 2 The Go Bag 3 The Rolling Pin 4 The Plaster Saint 5 The Sleigh Bells 6 The Beating Heart 7 The Bible and the Bee Book 8 The Cat Photo 9 The Breda Needlepoint 10 The Flattop and The Dobro 11 The Wedding Mirror 12 The Quilt 13 The Award 14 After Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisPalestinian refugees in Gaza have lived in camps for five generations, experiencing hardship and uncertainty. In the absence of official histories, oral narratives handed down from generation to generation bear witness to life in Palestine before and after the 1948 Nakba—the catastrophe of dispossession. These narratives maintain traditions, keep alive names of destroyed villages, and record stories of the fight for dignity and freedom. The Women’s Voices from Gaza Series honours women’s unique and underrepresented perspectives on the social, material, and political realities of Palestinian life. In A White Lie, the first volume in this series, Madeeha Hafez Albatta chronicles her life in Gaza and beyond. Among her remarkable achievements was establishing some of the first schools for refugee children in Gaza. Foreword by Salman Abu Sitta.Trade Review"[A White Lie] should urge academics to consider whose voices they include and how they include them when writing about and theorising Palestine. It demonstrates the power of centring female voices and detailed histories to understand intersections between temporality, place, and gender and the material, social, and political realities of Palestinian life." Olivia Mason, Gender, Place & Culture [Full review at https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2021.1971899]"In A White Lie, Madeeha Hafez Albatta recounts her life as a teacher, mother and activist in Gaza... By preserving Albatta’s extraordinary life, this book makes a significant contribution to Palestinian history and politics." [Full review at https://albertaviews.ca/white-lie-womens-voices/] -- Nancy Janovicek, Alberta Reviews, 05/01/2021“A White Lie is the first in a series of oral histories from a woman’s perspective living through events – modern history – occurring in Gaza and regionally. As history is usually written by old white men at the end of a certain epoch or episode in history, people’s voices, women’s voices in particular, are seldom if ever heard.” Jim Miles, Palestine Chronicles, August 4, 2023 [Full article at https://www.palestinechronicle.com/womens-voices-from-gaza-a-white-lie-book-review/]Table of ContentsContents Preface ix Foreword xv Acknowledgements xxiii Introduction xxv A White Lie 1 / Childhood Days 3 2 / School Days 23 3 / Marriage 39 4 / Massacre 51 5 / Occupation 65 6 / Black September 87 7 / 1973 War 103 8 / Waiting for the Curtain to Rise 111 Chronology of Events in Palestine 129 Notes 149 Glossary 167 Bibliography 171

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Book SynopsisSahbaa Al-Barbari’s story provides a unique perspective on Palestinian experiences before and after the 1948 Nakba. Born and educated in Gaza, Al-Barbari was an activist in her community. When Israel occupied the Gaza Strip in 1967, Al-Barbari and her husband Mu’in Bseiso became refugees, stripped of their residency rights and forced to live in exile for the next three decades. While in exile, moving from Lebanon to Syria, Libya, Kuwait, Egypt, and finally Tunisia, Al-Barbari held tight to her hope of one day returning to Gaza. Her life speaks volumes about the struggle experienced by millions of disenfranchised Palestinians, separated from family members and their homeland. This is the second book in the Women’s Voices from Gaza series, which honours women’s unique and underrepresented perspectives on the social, material, and political realities of Palestinian life. Foreword by Ramzy Baroud.Trade Review"What an extraordinary project! We don't hear enough from Gaza. Through the oral histories of Palestinian women who have lived, witnessed, and built lives and futures for their families and communities—in the face of devastating force and continuing injustices—we learn Palestinian History through the intimate daily ways individuals have lived and made it." -- Lila Abu-Lughod, Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science, Columbia University"Gaza City is one of the most ancient cultural centres on the Mediterranean, and its people have long been a backbone of the Palestinian national movement. How Gazan women describe their lives under continual siege and military attack reveals their capacity for bearing hardship and undertaking initiatives in the public sphere. Ghada Ageel, a Gazan, and Barbara Bill have ably used oral history to bring readers the lived reality of women of different backgrounds, ages, and occupations." -- Rosemary Sayigh, anthropologist and oral historian"Al-Barbari lived in Cairo, Beirut, and Kuwait, before being allowed to return to Gaza after the Oslo Peace Accords gave permission for some exiles to return... She witnessed the attacks in Beirut moving from shelter to shelter; she lived in Tunis when Israeli agents attacked Palestinians exiled there; during the 1967 war she was in Cairo, which started her original denial of return... [L]iving in peace, a real peace, is the basic demand... Light the Road of Freedom is an important contribution to recording history as witnessed and experienced by the women and families of Palestine." Jim Miller, Palestine Chronicle, August 25, 2023Table of ContentsPreface ix Foreword xv Acknowledgments xxiii Introduction xv Light the Road of Freedom 1 / Growing up in Gaza 3 2 / The 1948 Nakba and Studies in Cairo 21 3 / Arrest and Imprisonment 43 4 / Marriage and Exile 53 5 / Tunis 73 6 / Return 87 7 / The High Price of Freedom 93 Chronology of Events in Palestine 105 Notes 125 Glossary 151 Bibliography 153

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Book SynopsisSetting off on foot from Winchester, Ken Haigh hikes across southern England, retracing one of the traditional routes that medieval pilgrims followed to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. Walking in honour of his father, a staunch Anglican who passed away before they could begin their trip together, Haigh wonders: Is there a place in the modern secular world for pilgrimage? On his journey, he sorts through his own spiritual aimlessness while crossing paths with writers like Anthony Trollope, John Keats, Jane Austen, Jonathan Swift, Charles Dickens, and, of course, Geoffrey Chaucer. Part travelogue, part memoir, and part literary history, On Foot to Canterbury is engaging and delightful. “My father didn’t need this walk, not the way I do. For him it would have been a fun way to spend some time with his son. He had, I begin to realize, a talent for living in the moment… Perhaps a pilgrimage would help me find happiness. Perhaps I could walk my way into a better frame of mind, and somehow along the road to Canterbury I would find a new purpose for my life. It was worth a shot.” Audio edition from PRH available from Audible, Kobo, Google, and Apple Books.Trade Review"On Foot to Canterbury is a beautifully written and eloquent story that skillfully weaves historical anecdotes into a journey through rural England, leaving the reader with practical, sage advice on how to deal with loss and depression, but most of all, on how to live. Haigh’s eye to detail is a delight to read, as are his frequent musings on landscape and history. This subtle, moving story stays with you long after the book is finished." -- Jury members, 2021 Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction“We discover [Haigh’s] life long battle with depression, growing middle age angst, his tenuous relationship with his father and his drifting away from the Anglican Church of his youth…. A worthwhile read…[and] a brave book…” -- Robert Burcher"It bristles with historical asides and stories of encounters along the way, and is full of warmth and wit." -- Sebastian Milbank, The Tablet, November 10, 2021"Those who have walked the Pilgrims' Way from Winchester will find this book an enjoyable account." -- Leigh Hatts, Walking The Pilgrims' Way, November 6, 2021"The narrative is immediately engaging; it’s both entertaining and thought-provoking... Haigh’s journey took him beyond his physical destination, to a Pilgrims’ Way of the mind and soul. On Foot to Canterbury did the same thing for me." -- A.M. Potter, North Noir, November 10, 2021“Haigh takes readers on an elegant historical tour of England as he walks for two weeks from Winchester to Canterbury. With the patient eye of a historian, he explores churches and describes the landscape…. Having misplaced his own faith, Haigh explores his relationship with God, coming to appreciate British author Julian Barnes’ statement, 'I don’t believe in God, but I miss him.’” Nicola Ross, December 6, 2021 [Full post at https://nicolaross.ca/everyone-should-go-on-a-pilgrimage]“Walking Pilgrim’s Way takes you through a literary landscape in England where you keep being reminded of books you’ve read and enjoyed,” said Haigh. “Part of the pilgrimage for me was visiting these places that meant so much to me as a reader.” Erika Engel, September 29, 2021 [Full interview at https://www.collingwoodtoday.ca/local-news/former-collingwood-library-ceos-book-details-the-progress-of-his-pilgrimage-4470123]"On Foot to Canterbury is deeply felt and spiritual, funny and mournful. It deserves a wide readership. These long pandemic months lend themselves well to armchair travel and Haigh is a welcome companion. As he writes, 'After all, walking a pilgrimage is really just walking in the footsteps of those who have gone before, and there is some comfort in knowing that.' It may even inspire a pilgrimage of your own." Bryn Evans, Alberta Views Magazine, April 2022…On Foot to Canterbury…describes a circular journey, with a narrator who is a restless wanderer and aspires to ‘walk my way into a better frame of mind’.… As Haigh notes, travelling plays an enormous role in his life, and the linear pilgrimage from Winchester to Canterbury—a road rich with historical and literary significance—is inspired by a tentative plan made with his father. Initially, he is reluctant to carry out this plan after his father’s death, but ‘itchy feet’ and a constant awareness ‘of the existential clock ticking’ lead him to revise it into his own journey through a process of relentless self-doubt and grieving…. The linear path to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury—with multiple allusions to Bunyan, Chaucer, Raleigh, Walton, and Keats—becomes Haigh’s journey, and it ends with his hope that ‘it inspires you to take journeys of your own’.” Dorothy F. Lane, Canadian Literature, September 28, 2022 [Full review: https://canlit.ca/article/vicious-and-virtuous-circles]Table of ContentsPrelude xi 1 | Winchester 1 2 | Winchester to New Alresford 23 3 | New Alresford to Alton 41 4 | Alton to Farnham 57 5 | Farnham to Newlands Corner 67 6 | Newlands Corner to Dorking 89 7 | Dorking to Reigate 107 8 | Reigate to Godstone 119 9 | Godstone to Otford 131 10 | Otford to Addington 145 11 | Addington to Rochester 163 12 | Rochester to Thurnham 183 13 | Thurnham to Lenham 199 14 | Lenham to Wye 213 15 | Wye to Canterbury 227 16 | Canterbury 245 Acknowledgements 253 Notes 255 Suggested Reading 263

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Book SynopsisHow to Clean a Fish describes an extended family stay in Portugal, full of food, adventure, and the search for home. Offered the opportunity to live in Costa da Caparica for an extended period, Esmeralda Cabral jumped at the chance to return to the country of her birth. Together with her Canadian-born husband, children, and Portuguese Water Dog, Maggie, Cabral makes new and nostalgic discoveries—a labyrinth of cobblestone alleys and beautiful painted tiles, a delicious bica and pastel de nata, a classic fado concert, the gentle ribbing of local fishmongers, a damaging high tide—translating words and emotions for her family along the way. Packed with local cuisine and customs, tales of language barriers and bureaucracy, and threaded with that irresistible need to connect with the culture of our birth, How to Clean a Fish is for readers curious about life in Portugal and for anyone who has moved from one place to another and is seeking their own version of home.Trade Review"These pages are as delicious as the Portuguese food the author so enthusiastically writes about. Any English speaker interested in Portugal will gladly savor Esmeralda Cabral's genuine narratives as a tasty introduction to Portuguese culture's joys, appeals, intricacies, and mysteries. She is well-versed with food, fado, the language, and even soccer, but she has to negotiate how to feel somewhat at home in the complex web of subtle Portuguese ways.” Onésimo Teotónio Almeida, Brown University"With the keen eye of a traveller, Esmeralda Cabral serves up close depictions of daily life in Costa da Caparica, including market days, pastéis de nata, and Portuguese hospitality. Told with warmth and layered with Cabral’s nuanced reflections on home, belonging, and family, How to Clean a Fish is an enticing memoir that will connect with readers." Meaghan Hackinen, author of South Away: The Pacific Coast on Two Wheels“Our easy-going and approachable narrator gives us a charming and entertaining book that is part travelogue, part memoir. Readers will find themselves cheering Esmeralda—and her family—on.” Scott Edward Anderson, author of Falling Up and Azorean Suite“Esmeralda enthusiastically embraces the opportunity to live with her family in a beautiful fishing village near Lisbon. Sharing genuine conversation with folks she meets, exploring her love of fish, and constantly translating and interpreting for her husband and children, Esmeralda’s journey is rooted in an awareness of history and culture, and in the dilemma of belonging.” Maria Manuela Vaz Marujo, Professor Emerita, University of Toronto"At times heartbreaking with loss and longing for loved ones, at other times hilarious with mishaps along the way, How to Clean a Fish is a great read." Emanuel Melo, June 5, 2023 (Full post at https://thetorzorean.com/2023/06/05/how-to-clean-a-fish-and-other-adventures-in-portugal/)"This book offers a leisurely investigation into how to be relaxed and enjoy an extended stay in Portugal.... Cabral has the knack of inviting us along on her jaunts. We are right by her shoulder as she learns, explains, remembers." Ron Robinson, Winnipeg Free Press, July 8, 2023 [Full review at https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/books/2023/07/08/portuguese-travel-memoir-full-of-flavour]"How To Clean a Fish is an engaging and beautifully written account of an extended visit to Costa da Caparica, a municipality across the Tagus estuary from Lisbon, on Portugal’s west coast, during which the author navigates the pleasures and difficulties of living temporarily in the country of her birth. The narrative moves skilfully back and forth in time, its layers of far past, recent past, present, and possible future building momentum, summoning the evocative quality of saudade as Esmeralda Cabral remembers her family’s complicated history in Portugal and weaves the lives of her husband and children into that history. Even the family dog, Maggie, a Portuguese water dog, has a place in this history as she adjusts to the rhythms of a sojourn in an unfamiliar place. Areas of Excellence: The writing is very crisp, the details telling and precise, and the sense of place so admirably delineated that the reader is walking to the beach, recognizing the neighbourhood dogs, carrying warm bread home from the bakery, eating fresh pastel de nata with a tiny cup of coffee, riding the ferry from Costa da Caparica to Lisbon for an afternoon of shopping or a night of dinner and fado, realizing, as the book is closed, that something unexpected has happened. We’ve accompanied Cabral, the best of guides on a trip to Portugal, complete with meals of Carne de Porco à Alentejana and glasses of summery vinho verde; and we never even left home. Cabral is a warm narrator, generous in her observations, self-deprecating. I was lucky to spend some weeks in Portugal a few years ago and as I read this book, I recalled, with my own sweet moments of saudade, hearing fado in a tiny bar in Alfama, buying strawberries, runny cheese, and ham from the black pigs of the Alentejo to make a simple supper, and waking in a room in a little flat above a cobbled plaza where a few chickens pecked and a woman hung her sheets on lines strung between buildings over a narrow lane. Sometimes the best books make you remember or yearn; How to Clean a Fish did both. How To Clean a Fish is a very attractive book, demonstrating the skill of a professional designer in its cover and page design, its organization of front and back matter, and judicious choice of fonts for titles and text. It’s a book that draws the reader in, with its inviting cover, reminiscent of Portuguese tiles and mosaics, and provides a simple map to give us a sense of where Costa da Caparica is in relation to Lisbon, mainland Portugal, and the author’s birthplace on the Azores. Brief chapters set within larger sections named for the seasons of the extended visit help to orient us to the shifts in weather and so on. Production Value: The cover is bright and cheerful with a folk art feel to it. Extremely pleasant to the eye." Jury Comments, SCWES Book Awards for BC Authors"It’s a great read. Informative. Interesting. Insightful." Nicola Ross, Blog post, July 11, 2023"...there’s fado and saudade, the sad songs and the Portuguese nostalgia, the yearning for home and not knowing where that is, the sacredness of the fish you cook and eat, the tension of being the hyphen in Portuguese-Canadian." Sheldon Goldfarb, British Columbia Review of Books, August 1, 2023"On closing the book, I felt privileged to spend this time with Cabral and her family.... In How to Clean A Fish, Cabral gives us a travelogue, a taste of adventure, and a good dose of self-discovery, along with the occasional bit of chaos. She shows us that sometimes it’s best to lean into the opportunity of the unexpected, because that’s often where our best life is lived, and where we can find ourselves." Trish Talks Books, July 17, 2023 [Full post at https://www.trishtalksbooks.com/2023/07/review-how-to-clean-fish-by-esmeralda.html]“How to Clean a Fish is [...] a narrative about returning to one’s birth country and culture, and ultimately, about exploring one’s identity and grappling with a sense of belonging.” Jennifer Verma, ukings.ca, June 12, 2023 [Full article at https://ukings.ca/news/author-esmeralda-cabral-persisted-buoyed-by-her-mfa-mentors-belief/ ]“...a ‘family’ travel book…” Millicent Borges Accardi, Portuguese American Journal, May 23, 2023 [Full interview at https://portuguese-american-journal.com/author-esmeralda-cabral-on-how-to-call-two-countries-home-interview/]“Canadian-born husband, children and Portuguese water dog, Maggie…connect with the culture, seeking to make their own version of home.” CBC, May 8, 2023 [Full review at https://www.cbc.ca/books/70-works-of-canadian-nonfiction-to-check-out-in-spring-2023-1.6703900]"This charming book...reads like a series of handwritten postcards, which are always more poignant than self-indulgent Instagram posts." Literary Review of Canada, October 2023“…many new Canadians feel a disconnect between who they are, where they once lived and life in this new land. This back-and-forth between place, identity and the feeling of saudade—a Portuguese term encapsulating sentiments of longing and nostalgia—forms the heart of Esmeralda Cabral’s memoir How to Clean a Fish.” Elizabeth Chorney-Booth, Alberta Views, December 2023#3 on Calgary Non-fiction Bestsellers list for November 23, 2023Table of ContentsA Word about Saudade Map INVERNO (WINTER) A Harrowing Ride How Did We Get Here? Passport Woes and Flight Plans Around Town The First Big Storm Portuguese Hospitality A Rainy Day in Lisbon Planning to Run Winter Market Days Ashes to Ashes Belonging A Phone Call from Canada PRIMAVERA (SPRING) The Lisbon Mini-Marathon Tracking The Passport Lost in Alfama Fado Concert 25th of April Reflections on Duality Our Guests Matt’s Arrival A Weekend in Aldeia Haircut World Cup Friendly Border Services 1 Spring Market Days VERÃO (SUMMER) A Dog’s Life Border Services 2 Summer Market Days An Inheritance of Loss Fado Bar Sardine Season Adeus Costa da Caparica A Vacation in the North Good-bye Lisbon Back in Vancouver Recipes Further Reading Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisAll Sky, Mirror Ocean is for everyone looking to understand the complex issues around mental illness and healing. Combining autobiography, research-creation, poetry, and creative philosophy, Brad Necyk uses art and words to uncover and tell new stories about trauma and recovery. Necyk weaves his own histories with bipolar affective disorder and childhood medical trauma with those of other people dealing with grief and loss: head and neck cancer patients in Edmonton, psychiatric inpatients in Toronto, and communities in Iqaluit stricken by suicide. Punctuated with art, these lived experiences intertwine with scholarship on arts-based research, neuroscience, collaboration, and psychedelic altered states to reveal the understanding and acceptance that comes from acknowledging our deep connections—to ideas and emotions, to our environments, to art, and to each other. Showing great compassion and wisdom, All Sky, Mirror Ocean is a model for research-creation and artistic fieldwork.Trade Review"All Sky, Mirror Ocean is beautifully written, invitingly complex, heartbreakingly real. This visionary work is not so much a contribution as a live wire. It is unbearably important." Erin Manning, Concordia UniversityTable of ContentsAcknowledgements for sha : on writing Introduction Alberta #3 Iqaluit, Nunavut Telling Stories Otherwise Edmonton, Alberta No Trespassing Cancer A research meeting Being Healing World Gone Wrong 1987 The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario Unwell Stories and Worlds Worlding The Open Morning Light Death #1 A Dry City Spaciousness Knowing An Arts-Based Workshop The Abyss For Mom, For Dad The Origin of the Work of Art Visionary Art The Visionary Artist Distant Early Warning Self-Showing North Bay, Ontario Unthinkable Stories The Behaviour of Art Knowing Otherwise Creation-as-Research Co-Creating Cancer Waiting Room For my Grandma For Jesse For Ellie For Him For Mary The New Girl Co-Creation Default-Mode Network Entropic Brain Psilocybin For Derek and Luanna ECT A Sermon Psychiatric Rooms Music Room Into Mania For the young girl next to me, who is still with me Death #2 Life For Candace Select Annotated Bibliography References Alternative Tables of Content Iqaluit Iqaluit, Nunavut No Trespassing Morning Light A Dry City An Arts-Based Workshop Cancer Edmonton, Alberta Cancer A Research Meeting Self-Showing Unthinkable Stories Co-creating Cancer Waiting Room Centre for Addiction and Mental Health The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada Unwell North Bay, Ontario For Jesse For Him The New Girl Co-creation For Derek and Luanna ECT A Sermon Psychiatric Rooms Music Room Family Alberta #3 World Gone Wrong 1987 For Mom, For Dad For my grandma For Ellie For Mary Into Mania For the young girl next to me, who is still with me For Candace Visionary Art Telling Stories Otherwise Being Healing Stories and Worlds Worlding The Open Death #1 Spaciousness Knowing The Abyss The Origin of the Work of Art Visionary Art The Visionary Artist Distant Early Warning The Behaviour of Art Knowing Otherwise Creation-as-research Default-Mode Network Entropic Brain Psilocybin Death #2 Life

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Book SynopsisEarly in the pandemic, medical personnel were our front lines. What was that like? Through stories, art, and poetry, Canadian health-care workers from across the country recount their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The contributors to The COVID Journals share the determination and fear they felt as they watched the crisis unfold, giving us an inside view of their lives at a time when care itself was redefined from moment to moment. Their narratives, at turns tender, angry, curious, and sometimes even joyful, highlight challenges and satisfactions that people will continue to explore and make sense of for years to come. Contributors: Ewan Affleck, Sarah-Taïssir Bencharif, Manisha Bharadia, Christopher Blake, Candace de Taeye, Arundhati Dhara, Paul Dhillon, Liam Durcan, Monika Dutt, Sarah Fraser, David Gratzer, Jillian Horton, Andrew Howe, Monica Kidd, Jaime Lenet, Pam Lenkov, Suzanne Lilker, Jennifer Moore, Shane Neilson, Kacper Niburski, Elizabeth Niedra, Margaret Nowaczyk, Tolu Oloruntoba, Rory O’Sullivan, Jordan Pelc, Nick Pimlott, Angela E. Simmonds, Tanas Sylliboy, Helen Tang, Bobby Taylor, Tharshika Thangarasa, Diana Toubassi, Shan Wang, Marisa Webster, Chadwick Williams, Dolly Williams, Jiameng Xu.Trade Review"The COVID Journals leaps off the page as a rich unmasking of those whom we too often herald as heroes but too rarely come to know, offering the reader an appreciation of the individuality, pain, love, humour, and creativity of Canadian health-care workers." Lawrence Hill, novelist and essayist“The COVID Journals brings readers into an encounter with the pandemic that is as exceptional as it is ordinary.” Emilia Nielsen, Associate Professor, York University“Just as stories have been central to our lives as human beings over millennia, they are also central to medicine. The narratives in The COVID Journals reframe health care as a human endeavor.” Pamela Brett-MacLean, Associate Professor, and Director, Arts & Humanities in Health & Medicine, University of Alberta"The COVID Journals is a poignant and insightful collection of stories, personal reflections, poems and artwork from the front­line of the COVID­19 pandemic in Canada. It offers an intimate glimpse into the struggles, triumphs, and unwavering dedication of those who bore the weight of ensuring the well-being of patients and communities. Each writer brings a unique perspective, but a common thread running through every story is that of vulnerability, of honesty, and of humanity. The anthology could be invaluable for those looking for resources that connect the humanities to the ‘sciences’ in health professions education. … This book, a must-­read, is a multifaceted, human-­centered perspective on the COVID­19 pandemic." Upreet Dhaliwal, Research and Humanities in Medical Education, October 23, 2023 [Full review at https://bit.ly/46JEC8o]Table of Contentsix Preface 1 Fight or Flight: The Ambivalent Health-Care Heroes of Pandemic Response, Canadian Edition | SHANE NEILSON 18 Uncertainty | PAUL DHILLON 22 The Sum of All Fears | TOLU OLORUNTOBA 26 A Journal of the Plague Year 2020 | NICK PIMLOTT 42 What I Will Not Doff | DIANA TOUBASSI 47 Workday | THARSHIKA THANGARASA 50 A Mask | MONICA KIDD 52 Facing the Unknown: Apprehensive, Overwhelmed, and Helpless | SHAN WANG 61 On Pandemic and Uselessness | JAIME LENET 67 Pandemic | JORDAN PELC 68 Prescription for Water | JIAMENG XU 70 Palliative Care | THARSHIKA THANGARASA 71 My So-Called COVID Life | JENNIFER MOORE 79 Pulling Strings | MONIKA DUTT 85 Disembodied” An Examination of the Examination in a Pandemic | LIAM DURCAN 93 Same But Different | DAVID GRATZER 97 I’m No Hero | SUZANNE LILKER 100 Sidelined | MENGXI (HELEN) TANG 101 Behind the Front Line: (Or, the COVID Experience That Never Was) | RORY O’SULLIVAN 108 Singularity | MENGXI (HELEN) TANG 109 With Beauty | KACPER NIBURSKI 114 Management Was Mad | SARAH FRASER 116 Preoccupations of a Public Health Resident | MARISA WEBSTER 119 Bongo Guy in Lockdown | CHRISTOPHER BLAKE 125 Mango Season | ARUNDHATI DHARA 132 Solidarity | MENGXI (HELEN) TANG 133 I Am Letting Myself Go (Or, Humans of Late COVID) | ELIZABETH NIEDRA 136 Life and Death in Denendeh | EWAN AFFLECK 144 Jipasi na’sɨk melkitai | TANAS SYLLIBOY 145 In the ER, Patients Need My Comfort But I Am Scared to Give It | SARAH-TAÏSSIR BENCHARIF 149 Vicissitude | PAM LENKOV 152 Connection | MENGXI (HELEN) TANG 153 What Was Missing | MARGARET NOWACZYK 162 A Family History in 2 Pandemics, 4 Infections, and 102 Years | JILLIAN HORTON 165 Endurance | MANISHA BHARADIA 167 Blowing Smoke in Your Ear | ANDREW HOWE, ANGELA SIMMONDS, BOBBY TAYLOR, and DOLLY WILLIAMS; facilitated by ARUNDHATI DHARA and CHADWICK WILLIAMS 185 It’s Hard Not to Slam a Fist on the Table When the Finish Line Keeps Lurching Further Ahead, or, Third Wave | CANDACE DE TAEYE 191 An Unconventional Conclusion | ARUNDHATI DHARA and SARAH FRASER 197 Acknowledgements 199 Contributors

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Book SynopsisBraiding together personal, collective, and historical explorations of what it means to go west, Amy Kaler offers deep reflections on the meaning of life, middle age, and climate catastrophe. She explores ruins of the human history of the North American settler westfaded hamlets, bunkers, fields of cars, bends in the riverthat serve as emblems of hope, generational commitment abandoned by contemporary heirs, faith, hubris, even carelessness. These stops are intertwined with reflections on aging, temporality, and change, making the book feel like a deeply satisfying road trip with a thoughtful friend. Moving from meditative to ardent to sobering in compelling and measured ways, Half-Light shimmers with urgency and suggestion.

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Book SynopsisMeltdown brings intimate storytelling and scientific observation together in a memoir about glaciers and forests, the struggles of academia, and a scientist who just might also be a writer.

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Book SynopsisBC Bestseller! From its Coast Mountain skyline to its seedy waterfront tattoo parlors, from the private downtown booze-cans of the city's business elite and the Faux Chateau enclave of Whistler, to the riot-shaken streets of the early Sixties and the history of pipe bomb attacks in the city, Moore has been there, done that. He's been a graveyard shift cabdriver, deckhand, bartender, emergency room security guard, reporter and even sunk to the depths of freelance journalism, without losing his sense of humour. Whether he's writing about delivering the news of imminent Nuclear Armageddon during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the history of umbrellas, (serious topic in Rain City), the vanishing game of Cribbage (a rainy day pastime), X-treme Sports, vintage sports cars or the proliferation of anti-depressant meds, he's still that a - hole who's always sticking his nose into other peoples' business'. Part memoir, part polemic, Rain City, is his version of a fat old Sixties rock band's Greatest Hits album."

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Book SynopsisThe award-winning author of Afflictions & Departures turns her kaleidoscopic lens on England in the 1970s in Queasy, a series of linked memoirs. While still grieving her father's death and the end of her first romantic relationship, Madeline Sonik moved with her mother from Windsor, Ontario to the seaside village of Ilfracombe in North Devon, England. As a teen at war with herself, nothing could have prepared her for the incredible cultural differences that she would encounter, nor the social and political tumult that was England at the time - trade union strikes, mass unemployment, IRA violence, and crippling taxes. Waiting tables and working as a chambermaid at local hotels, she talked politics among friends and work mates, with hot cups of tea throughout the day and pints of lager in the evening. Margaret Thatcher - the "Iron Lady" - loomed large as opposition leader and was fast gaining popularity, even amongst segments of the working class. The country seemed poised on the cusp of change and a new direction. It was in this unlikely crucible of hope and despair, of promise and discord where the author found the sustenance to fuel her development as a person and as a writer.

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Book SynopsisHaving circumnavigated the world and also visited both Poles, Yosef Wosk, a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, has been a progenitor of psychogeography. The title piece describes the time he almost died while climbing the Great Pyramid of Giza at midnight. The next day, he descended into an ancient cavern beneath the Great Pyramid where he took off all his clothes, alone, and meditated. Probably more people have walked on the moon.NAKED IN A PYRAMID is an unconventional book by an original thinker, a former rabbi who owns ancient Torah scrolls, a yellow star from the concentration camps, and Pee-Wee Herman''s yellow bike. There is quite simply nobody like him. Yosef Wosk is a reclusive Lone Ranger who frequently helps others but remains a stranger. Here, for the first time, he has gathered a medley of observations to reveal his private world."? these are the kind of generational ''travel'' stories that are easy to love, the trail-markings of ''a lost and found pilgrim on the road to apotheosis.''"--Trevor Carolan, The BC Review"It''s one of those rare books that you wish will never end. ? a wildly entertaining, thoughtful, and, some might say, perfect book."--Charlie Smith, Pancouver"There is no one I would trust more to be naked with in a pyramid than Yosef Wosk. In his life, as in his writing, a kind wisdom prevails."--Susan Musgrave, Giller nominee and author of Exculpatory Lilies"Yosef brings us a life of belief, irony, fascination with places, moving portraits and a highly personal sense of images. He brings us a life intensely lived."--John Ralston Saul, one of Canada''s leading men of letters"Yosef Wosk is a brave, passionate pilgrim. Fasten your safety belts and read him with eager focus and care."--Seymour Mayne, poet, publisher, professor emeritus at the University of Ottawa"I admire the way Wosk explores emotion with honesty and rigour, and transposes his personal quest onto the exotic landscapes."--Evelyn Lau, former poet laureate for the City of Vancouver"A wonderful book from the best kind of human. He is a brilliant original: wise, compassionate, curious."--Dr. Huw Lewis-Jones, Arctic exploration leader and author of The Writer''s MapLiterary Nonfiction. Essay.

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Book SynopsisA magical, airborne story of father and son.Jonathan Rotondo was 28 when his father, Antonio, died. Numb with grief, Rotondo decided to track down the object that had once given his father so much joy: a tiny single-seat biplane called Charlie Foxtrot Foxtrot Alpha Mike. Thus began Rotondo's journey to retrace his father's life from Italy to Canada via the plains of East Africa. In his search for Foxtrot Alpha Mike, Rotondo meets a host of colourful characters: an Australian expat living in Kenya who inspired Antonio's love of flight; a soft-spoken Swiss-Canadian who managed to get Foxtrot Alpha Mike into the air; a free-spirited dreamer who bought the plane to dogfight with his mates. In this uplifting story of a father and son, Rotondo catches fleeting glimpses of his father and rediscovers his own passion for flight. All the while he captures "the rush of speed, the exhilaration of the wind's breath rushing through the cockpit and along the fabric flanks, the surreal sensation of gravity's pull and lift's might."

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Book SynopsisFinalist, New Brunswick Book Award for Non-FictionFrom the first sentence, "I come from a long line of river people," to the last, "Bad luck to kill a moose bird," Wayne Curtis signals that this book occupies the territory of a classic, a lyrical memoir of a river and those who submit to its call.New Brunswick's Miramichi River is one of the most entrancing salmon rivers in the world. In Fishing the High Country, Curtis has created what can only be described as a river masterpiece, a lyrical record of time and place, of those who are drawn to its side and those who cast their lines into its waters.Drawing on his experience of life along the river — as a boy, as a young man, and as a river guide among guides, Wayne Curtis crafts the compelling memoir of this place, a high country where he spins his tales, casts his flies, and fishes the river and woods for his stories. The Miramichi vibrates in Curtis's bones. His cast of characters are earthy, whimsical, and wise. His eye for the telling detail and his rooted understanding of lives lived humbly will captivate readers with its near mystical blend of the mysteries of fly fishing and the affections of the heart.Trade Review"This gripping and beautiful book takes us deep into the forests and river valleys of one of our finest backwoods cultures. One trip to the Miramichi and you'll never forget its people and places. If you haven't stood alongside that river, Wayne Curtis's wise and gentle writing will make you want to go." -- Jake MacDonald"A story of love and passion. Wayne Curtis led me through rivers and people of memory, stirring strong sentiments in every chapter. This is a book for angling addicts who cast lines on any patch of water in reality and in dreams. It will be my go-to book any time I need my angling emotions stroked." -- Katharine Mott"What a joy this book is, full of affection for and a wise reflection on the river people, their angling guests, and the waters they shared in New Brunswick's high country, which Curtis has made his own. 'I can feel every word the great river laid upon us,' he writes and, in this memoir, Curtis gives us back those deep and shining words as a great and lasting gift." -- Harry Thurston

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Book SynopsisWinner, George Borden Writing for Change AwardOne of Indigo's Best Books of 2021 So FarRehtaeh Parsons was a gifted teenager with boundless curiosity and a love for family, science, and the natural world. But her life was derailed when she went to a friend’s house for a sleepover and the two of them dropped by at a neighbour’s house, where a group of boys were having a party.The next day, one of the boys circulated a photo on social media: it showed Rehtaeh half naked, with a boy up against her. She had no recollection of what had happened. For 17 months, Rehtaeh was shamed from one school to the next. Bullied by her peers, she was scorned by their parents and her community. No charges were laid by the RCMP.In comfortable, suburban Nova Scotia, Rehtaeh spiralled into depression. Failed by her school, the police, and the mental health system, Rehtaeh attempted suicide on April 4, 2013. She died three days later.But her story didn’t die with her. Rehtaeh’s death shone a searing light on attitudes toward issues of consent and sexual assault. It also led to legislation on cyberbullying, a review of mental health services for teens, and an overhaul of how Canadian schools deal with cyber exploitation.My Daughter Rehtaeh Parsons offers an unsparing look at Rehtaeh’s story, the social forces that enable and perpetuate violence and misogyny among teenagers, and parental love in the midst of horrendous loss.Trade Review“A necessary call-to-action, My Daughter Rehtaeh Parsons is a heartwrenching look at the ripple effects of misogyny and the devastating impacts of an indifferent legal system. Rehtaeh Parsons was a resilient young woman who fought like hell for a more just world, and it is a gift to all of us that Glen has continued that work. I believe we have a collective responsibility to bear witness and heed his call for change.” -- Julie S. Lalonde, author of Resilience is Futile“My Daughter Rehtaeh Parsons asks all of us to deeply examine the roots of sexual violence, the ways in which it is perpetuated in our society, and how we all need to take action. Glen Canning skillfully shares the grief that is bearing witness to your child being harmed not only by her peers but by the systems that purport to support her.” -- Farrah Kahn, gender justice advocate

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Book SynopsisMy grandparents used to tell me Rwanda is a country unlike any other, and I knew they spoke the truth. Blessed with majestic mountains and breathtaking valleys, it is a sacred and spiritual land. And yet Rwandan men drenched the land in blood in acts of hate so horrific that the stains of those three years will not fade in one hundred lifetimes. At the age of eight, Alpha Nkuranga made a fateful decision. With war raging around her, she grabbed the hand of her younger brother, Elijah, and ran from her grandparents' home. When they came to a swamp, they hid until it was safe to escape. Weeks later, they joined a group of refugees, who were fleeing to Tanzania. If I kept walking, Alpha remembers thinking, I could tell my story. Nkuranga emigrated to Canada more than a decade later. She now works with women and children who face abuse and homelessness. In Born to Walk, she tells a remarkable story of resistance and survival.

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Book SynopsisPart memoir, part social history, this collection of ten essays explores the various physical and natural elements that form the backdrop to Braun’s memories of growing up on a farm in southern Manitoba in the mid-20th century. From blackboard chalk to curling rocks in the chapter on stone, from mirages to straight-line winds in the essay on light and air, she reflects on her interactions with the elements as a child and how her responses influenced her evolution into adulthood.Braun includes intriguing tidbits about the science and history behind each element as it pertains to life in her unique location on our planet. The book highlights the value and beauty of the simple components of our surroundings that we take for granted growing up, exposes their true complexity, and reveals how the fascination with a “simple” thing can become a lifelong pursuit that sustains our artistic and spiritual needs.

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Book SynopsisGrow up, get a job, find a partner, have a family, live the dream. This was always the plan...with some deviations along the way. Using sarcasm and vulnerability, Morwenna speaks about growing up, finding love, and then struggling when the rest of "the plan" isn't meant to be. This is the raw & real story of one couple's rollercoaster ride as they discover infertility, try various treatments, suffer an adoption reversal, and learn to make new plans and find the funny moments. A raw, sarcastic, and sometimes funny account of the struggles of growing up, dealing with infertility, fertility treatments, and the adoption process.

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Book SynopsisIn the late fifties, Ann Kujundzic, her husband and artist Zeljko, and three children -- with a fourth on the way -- packed up their lives in post-war Edinburgh and emigrated to the Kootenays in BC, seeking adventure and opportunity. In Nelson, Ann was involved in establishing the Kootenay School of Art in 1960, a remarkable institution whose history has yet to be documented in the way it merits -- until now. This is the extraordinary memoir of a feminist, artist and activist who fought for change no matter her circumstance. The Kootenay School of Art was the first of its kind in the region, but it only marked the beginning of what would become Kujundzics life-long journey to strengthen the artistic and political environment of BC. She and Zeljko established the Kelowna Art Centre, collaborated with George and Norma Ryga, joined the Voice of Women, lived and worked on a co-op farm, fought for womens reproductive rights and social justice, and joined the Raging Grannies to fight against the militarys recruitment of the youth, all while juggling the roles inherent of motherhood. She travelled the world -- often alone, with nothing but a phrase book to aid her -- to places like Nunavut, Yugoslavia, Bethlehem and Hong Kong to keep her politics globally sound. Honest, intelligent and brave, New Ground shares the life of a remarkable woman whose efforts in the political and artistic communities of BC are still being felt today.

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Book Synopsis In an attempt to rekindle her relationship with her estranged brother Steve, who suffered with schizophrenia, Joan met him at the Art Studios in Vancouver. Schizophrenia had already done its worst, confounding Steve with voices, hallucinations, and delusions. At fifty-five, Steve was in a burn-out phase of schizophrenia with a hunger for creativity. Joan’s efforts to connect with him through art soon become the vehicle of change. Over the next eight years, Steve progressed both artistically and personally. Together, Steve and Joan explored their art and learned to trust one another. Steve’s artwork provides a glimpse into his perspective, at once troubled and beautiful. His paintings and drawings were eventually displayed in two solo exhibits at Basic Inquiry Gallery. He attended what would become his final solo show shortly before his death in 2013. DrawBridge: Drawing Alongside My Brother’s Schizophrenia offers a path of hope for those afflicted with mental illness and for their advocates. Normal0falsefalsefalseEN-CAX-NONEX-NONE

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Book SynopsisIn Kagan Gohs debut memoir, he recounts his struggles with manic depression, breaking the silence around mental illness. From an honest and personal perspective, Surviving Samsara traces Gohs experiences as he wanders through the highs of mania, the terrors of psychosis, and the lows of depression. From the welfare office to the hospital ward and many places in between, Goh struggles to discern the difference between mental health breakdowns and spiritual breakthroughs. Facing his experiences with courage and authenticity, Goh shares memories of family altercations, pushed to the brink of living on the street, and psychiatrist visits. He explores his diagnosis of bipolar mood disorder not only as a medical condition but as a spiritual emergence -- a vehicle for personal growth, healing and transcendence. With raw language and deep insight, he combats the societal stigma, prejudice and discrimination people with mental health challenges face on a daily basis, and exposes the further damage it can do. Writing and sharing his story of living with a mental illness began a form of self-therapy, and now illustrates Gohs transformation from victim to survivor to activist. Surviving Samsara tells a deeply personal story of recovery, acceptance and unconditional self-love and humanizes the challenges of those living with mental illness.

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Book SynopsisWith tenderness and affection, Finding Heartstone captures the psychological, physical, and emotional impact of wilderness living and family tragedy. When Cathy Sosnowsky, her husband Woldy, and their little boy Alex first joined the Hemming Bay Community, a cooperative formed to preserve a large piece of wilderness on a remote coastal island of British Columbia, she found the idea of owning part of an island appealing. But the paradise she envisioned reveals itself as a harsh and hostile environment -- the water too cold to swim, the beaches rocky and jagged. After increasing her family with the adoption of two children, and the building of a communal lodge, Cathy began to recognize the joys a wild environment offers. But when their lives take a tragic turn with the loss of their son Alex to a fatal accident and his siblings to addiction, the couple begins to drift apart. Determined to find a way through the anguish and alienation, Woldy finds his recipe for healing by building Heartstone Lodge with his brother Vic, while Cathy pursues a healing journey through her writing. Ironically, the writing becomes her link to Heartstone Lodge, drawing her back to the support of the community and the wilderness she shared with her children. Through anecdotes of living in nature and the stories of the people and animals of Hemming Bay, a different type of family emerges and Cathy reflects on the imposing presence of those who have departed, some by way of death. After their son Michael returns from eight years in a Chinese jail with a longing for Hemming Bay fish and chips, their family begins to rebuild, re-establishing their tradition of sharing meals as a reminder of summer days spent in the wild. With quiet strength and conviction, Cathy confronts her emotions and reflects on the healing power of nature in this tender memoir.

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Book SynopsisFor many, the Doukhobor story is a sensational one: arson, nudity and civil disobedience once made headlines. But it isnt the whole story. Our Backs Warmed by the Sun: Memories of a Doukhobor Life is an intricately woven, richly textured memoir of a familys determination to live in peace and community in the face of controversy and unrest. When author Vera Maloff set out to find the truth about her familys history, she knew something of the struggles of living a pacifist, agrarian life in a world with opposing values. To find the bones of that history she turned to her mother Elizabeth, who, in her nineties, had forgotten nothing. In Our Backs Warmed by the Sun, the author, through the stories of her mother, describes a wholly activist life. The Doukhobors -- both the Sons of Freedom and moderate sects -- led anti-military protests throughout the early 1900s, harboured draft dodgers in the 60s, and stood up for their beliefs. In response, they were hosed down, arrested, and jailed. Vera learns of the confusion and fear when, as a child, Elizabeth and her family were interned in an abandoned logging camp while their father served time in Oakalla prison for charges related to a peaceful protest, and of her loneliness when, later, she was institutionalised -- one of a series of Canadian government efforts in assimilation. By removing the children, it was believed, the cycle of protest and resistance could be broken. Tracing the Doukhobor movement from Russia, the author explores the spiritual influence of its leaders. She does not shy away from the controversial actions of the Sons of Freedom in the darkest days of bombings and arson, or the toll on families and communities, probing with a historians curiosity and a daughters tenderness. Elizabeths story is also one of a small but thriving Kootenay community, and of the experiences of a family who stood by their beliefs. Laughter, ingenuity and tenacity are offered up in the pages of Our Backs Warmed by the Sun, an important and engaging window into our collective history.

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Book SynopsisA moving and inspiring memoir of a same-sex couple as they create a life together, adopt twins, and overcome challenges, from outside and within, to build their family. Rarely do we know what life will hold. When starting the adoption process, Jane Byers and her wife could not have predicted the illuminating and challenging experience of living for two weeks with the Evangelical Christian foster parents of their soon-to-be adopted twins. Parenthood becomes even more daunting when homophobia threatens their beginnings as a family, seeping in from places both unexpected and familiar. But Jane and Amy are up for the challenge. In this moving and poetic memoir, Byers draws readers into her own tumultuous beginnings: her coming out years, finding love, and the start of her parenting journey. Love imprints itself where loneliness lived, but sometimes love, alone, is not enough to overcome trauma. Little did Byers know that her experiences when coming out was merely training for becoming an adoptive parent of racialized twins. Small Courage: A Queer Memoir of Finding Love and Conceiving Family is a thoughtful and heart-warming examination of love, queerness and what it means to be a family.

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Book SynopsisRESCUE ME takes you behind the scenes of some of North Americas riskiest search and rescue operations. Author Cathalynn Labonté-Smith shares real-life stories as told by volunteer members of Search and Rescue teams, who find the lost and rescue the injured in the most extreme conditions and situations the wilds of North America throw at them. From rescuing avalanche victims in blinding snowstorms, to climbing into vehicles teetering on cliff edges to free passengers from mangled metal or crossing wafer-thin ice to save an injured cross-country skier, these thrilling first-hand accounts will forever change how you prepare for your next outdoor adventure. Labonté-Smith uncovers everyday dangers, from the unexpected risks of familiar urban settings to the extreme conditions in North Americas wilderness. Deserving of a place both on your bookshelf and in your backpack, Rescue Me is a must-read book that could save your life.

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Book SynopsisA spinster in love with a tobacco-smoking ghost. A lonely one-eyed monster who wanders the desert. A Medieval saint who delights in her miraculous ruine. In Little Fortified Stories, award-winning writer Barbara Black conjures a microcosm of characters that defy convention. In these very short stories, curious worlds are encapsulated like a series of snow globes, swirling with deep emotion and teeming with strangeness. Inspired by art, music, alcoholic spirits, and what Black calls authentic fabrications from her own ancestry, these eclectic tales are told with an eye to the absurd. Buzzing with hypnotic intensity, Little Fortified Stories presents a world in which everything is theatre and the regular rules don't apply.

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Book SynopsisFinalist for the Robert Kroetsch City of Edmonton Book Prize at the 2021 Alberta Literary Awards!Finalist for the High Plains Book Awards in the Nonfiction CategoryFinalist for Trade Non-Fiction Book of the Year at the 2021 Alberta Book Publishing Awards!Laced with humour and revelation, Anne Wheeler''s creative non-fiction stories tell of her serendipitous journey in the seventies, when she broke with tradition and found her own way to becoming a filmmaker and raconteur.Join this celebrated screenwriter and director as she travels south of Mombasa after calling off her wedding; attempts to gain acceptance in a male-dominated film collective; travels to India to visit friends who are devoted to a radical Master, and ultimately discovers her sense of purpose and passion close to home, sharing stories that would otherwise be lost about ordinary people living extraordinary lives.Taken by the Muse: On the Path to Becoming a Filmmaker is a must-read for anyone open to exploring the possibilities of who they are and what they might do with their lives-and for those who love a good story told with integrity and warmth.

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Book SynopsisKathryn Willcock and her sisters grew up in logging camps on the coast of B.C. in the 1960s when children were set loose to play in the wilderness, women kept rifles next to the wood stove, and loggers risked their lives every single day. The author''s tales of grizzly bears, American tourists, and a couple of terrified gangsters, along with the wisdom of Indigenous elders, pour off the page like warm syrup on a stack of cookhouse hotcakes.

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