“The more we try to keep up with the Joneses in terms of preparing our little athletes for future success, the less likely we are to leave ourselves time to enjoy the simple pleasures of family life.” – Angie Abdou, in Home Ice. If hockey parents aren’t shrieking in the stands this winter, it’s because… Read more »
Book: Writing Down the Bones Author: Natalie Goldberg I stumbled upon a mentor for life in Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within (2005). Her book was on a suggested reading list in an obscure writing class I took many years ago. First published in 1986, this should be a standard go-to… Read more »
Book/Film: A Monster Calls Author: Patrick Ness Illustrator: Jim Kay Before her death from breast cancer in 2007, writer Siobhan Dowd began to develop a story about a boy facing the imminent loss of his mother to cancer. She drew inspiration from the highly poisonous yew tree, which was nevertheless the source of an anticancer drug she was… Read more »
Book: The Vimy Trap or, How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Great War Authors: Ian McKay and Jamie Swift The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the larger Battle of Arras in northern France during the First World War. Between April 9th to 12th, 1917, four Canadian divisions wrested control of the ridge… Read more »
Book: Creative Block Author: Danielle Krysa For fellow AU students seeking a book oozing with creative inspiration and artistic motivation, look no further than Danielle Krysa’s Creative Block (2014). This gem of a book overflows with solid advice from fifty different artists worldwide who work in a variety of diverse mediums. Each artist outlines a… Read more »
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo Egmont: 2017 ISBN 978 1 4052 2666 0 On September 19, 1914, my grandfather enlisted in the 3rd Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and headed off to war. In addition to volunteering, he offered his horse for military service. According to family lore, my grandfather wanted to serve with… Read more »
This is a journey speaking of womanhood of love of pain of loss of heartbreak. It is a collection Of all things I wish I could have said, But was too afraid. This is a release of emotion A catharsis. Available now at Amazon.com
“Warm, funny…unbearably moving.” Such is just some of the high praise for Fredrik Backman’s debut novel, A Man Called Ove. Like one of life’s sweetest surprises, I stumbled on this book entirely by accident. During a visit to the Canmore library I checked out the book sale rack. I was drawn to the book’s somewhat… Read more »