‘Express something within you’

Bloom Across Canada: 50 Inspiring Conversations
by Beka Shane Denter

Victoria: Heritage House Publishing, 2024
$42.95  /  9781772035001

Reviewed by Valerie Green

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Bloom Across Canada is Beka Shane Denter’s second book in the “Bloom” series. Her first, Bloom Where You are Planted, concentrated on inspiring women in British Columbia. This second book takes us across Canada with a wide variety of new stories.

The book includes fifty inspirational stories of women from all walks of life— photographers, artists, musicians, business founders, journalists, designers, producers, knitters, models, activists, writers, editors, flower farmers, dancers, actors, a chocolatier, and even a political rapper—to name but a few. Fourteen of the stories are of British Columbia women.

The foreword is written by Lydia Okello and begins with the words: “that ineffable drive to express something within you—it’s not an idea, but a calling. Many of us who have a creative practice, pursuit, or need to make or create, know this feeling well. You can run and hide from it, but it’s truly inescapable. It brews in us, planted from some unknown, and manifests where we are.”

This is the theme of Denter’s book. The stories of women who have that undefinable need to create something which eventually becomes their true calling.

In her introduction, Denter herself explains “When we find our thing, the thing we’re good at, it’s like a life raft in the stormy sea of life.” For some of the women she writes about it is writing. For others it is to start a business, to become a photographer, or to act. There are so many excellent examples of women who were driven to do what they simply must.

Denter begins her interviews with Jane Brokenshire, a lifestyle, portrait and design photographer who explains “Life can be busy, messy, and complicated. The way I take photos is how I cope with it all, by creating something that offers a sense of stillness.”

This theme of escaping into what we love to do carries on through five stories from Newfoundland and Labrador, one from Prince Edward Island, four from Nova Scotia, one from New Brunswick, three from Quebec, seven from Ontario, four from Manitoba, two from Saskatchewan, four from Alberta, two from the Northwest Territories, two from the Yukon, one from Nunavut, and fourteen from British Columbia.  It would be impossible to mention them all in a review, but each one is a fascinating, motivational story. Living in British Columbia myself, I have chosen two stories from this province to write about.      

The first is Denter’s interview with Dawn Pemberton, a vocalist, teacher, choir director, and radio host. She strongly believes that “Soul Music is a way to express the spirit, what’s on someone’s mind and in their heart.”   Pemberton was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, in a musical familywhere everyone played a musical instrument, and by the time she was sixteen she knew that music was her calling in life, even though she knew it would be hard work. She has a degree in jazz studies and is currently applying to start her Master of Music program.  Soul music inspiresDawn Pemberton, but she claims that “Music is for everyone. You don’t have to be an expert or a professional to feel and experience its power.”

Another British Columbia story is that of Amy Robichaud who is the CEO at Mothers Matter Canada, and former director at Dress for Success, Vancouver. She states that “to manage my depression, I’ve learned that rest, leisure and play aren’t things I should feel guilty about indulging in. Rest is part of work and play is part of productivity.” This is a good philosophy that has helped her to achieve her goals while living with a chronic illness. Robichaud’s work experience before landing the job at Dress for Success in Vancouver, was wide and varied. She had worked in social impact and philanthropy, had been a charity office intern, office manager, program coordinator, and fundraiser for various charities. Her goal today is not simply to help individuals, although that is certainly necessary. But her ultimate goal is to change our society as she assists women to overcome unequal and difficult circumstances. “My goal is to change society so that this work isn’t necessary. I can’t completely succeed in my job until I’ve eliminated the need for it . . . How’s that for a retirement plan?” Robichaud strongly believes in giving back in life “which is a small yet significant step someone can take…”

I am confident that readers will frequently return to one of these fifty stories in order to be inspired and renewed when life seems at its darkest.

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Valerie Green was born and educated in England, where she studied journalism and law. Her passion was always writing from the moment she first held a pen. After working at the world-famous Foyles Books in London (followed by a brief stint with MI5 and legal firms), she moved to Canada in 1968 and embarked on a long career as a freelance writer, columnist, and author of over twenty nonfiction historical and true-crime books. Hancock House recently released Tomorrow, the final volume of The McBride Chronicles (after Providence, Destiny, and Legacy). Now semi-retired (although writers never really retire!) she enjoys taking short road trips around BC with her husband, watching their two beloved grandsons grow up and, of course, writing. [Editor’s note: Valerie Green has recently reviewed books by Kate MacIntosh, Rosemary Neering, Winona Kent, Michael L. Hadley, Jason A.N. Taylor, and Johanna Van Zanten for The British Columbia Review.]