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Eastword, January - February 2005imPRESSed!: The newest titles by WFNS members
Sixteen-year old Simon has always been considered odd. Three years ago, a skateboarding accident caused some minor brain damage and made him a little stranger. His career-driven parents mostly leave him alone, and he spends much of his time living in his imagination. When Andrea, whom no one else can see, appears to Simon in class, he is fascinated by her and strikes up a friendship, even though he knows she may be pure hallucination. Andrea says she is there to “help” him, but before the story ends, Simon discovers that it is he who needs to help Andrea, not the other way around. A resident of Lawrencetown Beach, Lesley Choyce has published more than 60 works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. His previous YA fiction, Shoulder the Sky, was winner of the 2003 Ann Connor Brimer Children's Literature Prize and was also shortlisted for the White Pine Award.
Genevieve Lehr grew up in Dark Cove, Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland. She lives in Bayside, NS, with her children William and Arrianna.
No matter how hard he tries, Ian Goobie can’t do the things that the other children in his class can do. Then he finds a rock, a rock that fits perfectly into his pocket, a rock that touches all his senses and whisks him away into a whole other world. From then on, as long as he has a rock in his pocket, Ian can begin to cope with his daily challenges. That is until he stuffs so many rocks in his pockets that his pants fall down outside in the schoolyard. Sheree Fitch identifies with Ian. She knows all about the power of rocks. And she herself experiences some of the synesthesia that pulls her character into wonderful fantasy worlds. Sheree is an award-winning poet and author whose playful approach to language has brought joy to thousands upon thousands of children and many adults as well.
Hattie graduated with a Teachers’ License from the Provincial Normal College in Truro in 1939, and taught in various schools throughout the province. Author of several books on local history and genealogy, Hattie lives and writes in Barrington.
The Runaway is a collection of thirty-seven short stories and tales by the D’Amour brothers, Romeo, Ludger and Antonio. The stories cover distance and time, from life in a small island in France in 1874 to an escape to the Magdalen Islands, and follow generations as they move to Baie-Ste-Anne and out into the world. The brothers describe adventures on the high seas and in the back woods with homespun humour, wisdom and a very human look at the days of the Great Depression. “From the mists of Baie-Ste-Anne, New Brunswick, their birthplace, come the clatter of horse hoofs, wedding brawls, and wailing newborns, so vividly, one wants to linger on the pages for a taste of yesteryear." - Beatrice MacNeil. Antonio D'Amour is a co-author and editor of the collection. A true Renaissance man, he has been a school principal, an army major, reporter, videographer and now a painter and writer. He lives with his wife in Louisdale.
Told through the eyes of an eleven-year-old boy, To Every Thing There Is a Season describes Christmas on a farm on the west coast of Cape Breton. The time is the 1940s, and the family of six children excitedly waits for Christmas. They wait especially for their oldest brother, Neil, working on the lake boats in Ontario, who sends intriguing packages back home for Christmas. Will he arrive in time? Will his younger brother be thought old enough to stay up late on Christmas Eve, to join the adult gift-wrapping role of helping Santa Claus? Alistair MacLeod, author of No Great Mischief (winner of the Dublin IMPAC award) and short story collection, Island, is one of Canada’s greatest writers.
When Colt and Francie Hart stumble upon an empty 150-year-old house during a weekend drive in the country, they both fall in love with it. For Colt, the house will become a trophy representing his success at trading stocks. For Francie, a blocked poet, the house seems to whisper hints for reawakening her creativity. The couple begins the transition from city dwelling to country life, yet the more they learn about the house, the more it drives them apart. And when Francie discovers an old family cemetery hidden on the property, it brings out qualities in each of them that come as a total surprise. The Good Neighbour is a story of two people who, in looking for a place to call home, find themselves instead. William Kowalski is the author of Eddie's Bastard, Somewhere South of Here, and The Adventures of Flash Jackson. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania. He now lives in Mahone Bay with his wife and daughter.
Mrs. Miflin’s boarding house on Bishop’s Road was a convent until the Sisters of Joy dried up suddenly and blew away. It is large with many rooms, not accustomed to noise or quick movement though it is quite familiar with haunted dreams. Judy is the most recent arrival and with her comes a wonderful disturbance. It hitched a ride in her pocket and finding the inhabitants of Mrs. Miflin’s house needing a little more than they had bargained for, has decided to stay awhile. With the moon’s blessing it creeps under doors and through closets leaving smudges of itself on shirts and underwear, photographs and letters. It goes to the attic for a quick look around before sliding a pillow to nap. Catherine Safer has been scribbling quietly – madly – since the nuns taught her to write. Born in the Codroy Valley and raised in Gader, NF, Catherine now makes Halifax her home. Bishop’s Road is her first novel.
Charley Goes to War is a personal account of the Second World War told by Glen Hancock, an RCAF airman from Wolfville, NS. Hancock takes us from the streets of Wolfville in 1939 to Canada’s training camps, and from his first operation with No.408 Goose Squadron until the final defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. With its elegance, authenticity and remarkable depth of feeling, Hancock’s memoir maintains a refreshing balance between the headline events of the war and daily life in training and operation. Glen Hancock has worked as a journalist, editor and columnist. After serving overseas in WWII, he worked with Imperial Oil and later was involved in the formation of the School of Journalism at the University of Kings College. His previous books include My Real Name is Charley: Memoirs of a Grocer’s Clerk, History of the Acadia University and Nova Scotians and the House They Live In.
The majority of the lush, meandering rivers of southwestern Nova Scotia emerge from deep within the Tobeatic, the province’s largest protected wilderness area. This extraordinary region contains vital reserves of biological diversity within its stunning lakes, and rivers, as well as ancient ties to the province’s cultural heritage. Blending wit with rugged pragmatism and interspersing fascinating tidbits of local and natural history, paddler and back-county explorer Andrew Smith has created the definitive guide to canoe of the Tobeatic. Packed with a wealth of information, the book speaks to both the seasoned canoist and the casual outdoor enthusiast. Andrew Smith’s early family trips down the Tusket River sparked a life-long love of canoeing. A retired teacher, he is the author of a number of magazine articles on canoeing in Nova Scotia. Andy lives in Central Argyle.
Timely in subject and original in perspective, Nurturing Hidden Resilience in Troubled Youth challenges what popular media refer to as a 'youth problem.' Ungar's book offers a comprehensive theory of resilience and a model for the application of this theory to direct practice with high-risk youth in clinical, residential, and community settings. Using detailed case studies, Ungar finds that high-risk youth explain their problematic behaviours, such as gang affiliations and drug and alcohol use, as strategic ways to compose healthy stories about themselves that bring them experiences of control and acceptance. Unlike most extant literature on risk and resiliency, Ungar's text provides a novel and fresh approach to the resiliency construct and, perhaps more importantly, gives voice to the adolescents themselves. Michael Ungar is an associate professor at the Maritime School of Social Work at Dalhousie University. He lives with his family in Halifax.
Few people have had a greater impact on the lives of Canadians than the late Supreme Court justice Emmett Hall. At the forefront of several important judgments in the 1960s and 1970s – such as Truscott and Calder – Hall is perhaps best known for his role in the adoption of universal health care at the federal level in 1968. Based on extensive interviews with Hall and people who knew him, Frederick Vaughan’s Aggressive in Pursuit tells Hall’s remarkable story. Frederick Vaughan is a professor emeritus in the Department
of Political Studies at the University of Guelph.
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©WFNS
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Smoke
and Mirrors
The
Sorrowing House
Pocket
Rocks 
School
Days: Schools of Barrington Municipality and the Town of Clark's Harbour
The
Runaway and Other Stories
To
Every Thing There Is a Season: A Cape Breton Christmas Story
The
Good Neighbour
Bishop’s
Road
Charley
Goes to War
Paddling
the Tobeatic
Nurturing
Hidden Resilience in Troubled Youth
Aggressive
in Pursuit: The Life of Justice Emmett Hall