“She fell in love with him, and remained in love for a long time, despite everything. Maskerine explains this is one reason why these relationships are so complicated and so difficult to end. Perpetrators of abuse are often Jekyll and Hyde characters, extremely caring and gentle one moment, inexplicably violent the next.” Susan Sanford Blades reviews Beneath my Scars: Surviving Domestic Violence, by Anna Maskerine (Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2025) $26 / 9781773861593
“…Woodruff is to be commended for eschewing preachiness: she does not pontificate on the ills of drink so much as illustrate the deleterious impact a culture focused on alcohol can have on particular individuals, while drawing on research to reinforce her lived experience.” Ginny Ratsoy reviews Blind Drunk: A Sober Look at our Boozy Culture, by Veronica Woodruff (New Westminster: Tidewater Press, 2025) $24.95 / 9781990160462
“Before I read Liz’s book, I wondered how both Liz and David sourced the strength to navigate the myriad of disconnections caused by dementia. The loneliness, the grief, and, ultimately, his death. Against relentless adversity, they sustained their love.” Lee Reid reviews Love in a Different Way: A Journey Through Dementia by Liz and David Amaral (Nelson: Amazon, 2025) $28.10 / 9781834180823
“Throughout the book, Hafting weaves a powerful thread of connection—not just between birds and humans but between people themselves. ‘Birds connect us and reflect how we are connected to those we love,’ she observes. That sentiment lingered in my mind long after I closed the book.” Amy Tucker reviews Dare to Bird: Exploring the Joy and Healing Power of Birds, by Melissa Hafting (Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2024) $45 / 9781771606547
“300 Mason Jars: Preserving History is a book to be treasured. Beautifully presented in colour, the delightful poems and contents of the mason jars can be savoured and preserved for years to come.” Valerie Green reviews 300 Mason Jars: Preserving History, by Joanne Thomson (Victoria: Heritage House, 2024) $34.95 / 9781772935162
“Joseph’s book is more than a field guide to plants. It reflects her philosophy and love of nature.” Kenneth Favrholdt reviews Held By The Land: A Guide to Indigenous Plants for Wellness, by Leigh Joseph (New York: Wellfleet Press, 2023) $24.99 / 9781577152941 & Held by the Land Deck: 45 Ways to Use Indigenous Plants for Healing and Nourishment, by Leigh Joseph (New York: Wellfleet Press, 2024) $19.99 / 9781577154440
“Along Came a Gardener serves as a reminder that personal growth is not linear. Like nature itself, there are seasons of progress and setbacks, of flourishing and dormancy. Stevan reassures readers that moments of stagnation are not failures but necessary pauses in the journey of self-improvement.” Selena Mercuri reviews Along Came a Gardener, by Diana Stevan (Campbell River: Island House Publishing, 2025) $21.95 / 9781988180229
“Transforming Trauma through Social Change is a nutrient-dense book of 330 pages. It deserves slow careful reading if you wish to secure a very rich education in becoming trauma-informed, through the cultural medium of storytelling. The book’s literary scaffolding is academic and therapeutic, inviting a growth mindset that encourages social and personal change in readers.” Lee Reid reviews Transforming Trauma Through Social Change: A Guide for Educators, by Theresa Southam, PhD (Santa Barbara, CA: Fielding University Press, 2024) $36.24 / 9798991258012
“Todd discusses the most common dog fears: other people, other dogs, loud noises, vet visits, being left alone, their things being taken away (resource guarding), and dysfunctional repetitive behaviours. She goes over mistakes that are easily made in training…” Jessica Poon reviews Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog by Zazie Todd (Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2024) $36.95 / 9781778401367
“McAlpine’s memoir is a cogent, salubrious reminder that our accolades and impressive achievements are, more often than not, seldom the reason why anyone likes or trusts us. Initially, McAlpine keeps his recovery and his doctorly life neatly compartmentalized.” Jessica Poon reviews Prescription: Ice Cream: A Doctor’s Journey to Discover What Matters, by Alastair McAlpine (Johannesburg: Pan MacMillan South Africa, 2024) $37.50 / 9781770108042
“She loves the idea of motherhood, unconditional love, but the journey is harrowing, the gynecological/psychological equivalent of fingernails on blackboards, tearing the night sky apart. But, in the end, the blackboard embraces as it informs us that we are one in the many, stars burning bright.” Linda Rogers reviews Monsters, Martyrs, and Marionettes: essays on motherhood, by Adrienne Gruber (Toronto: Book*hug Press, 2024) $23 / 9781771669030
“Given that Em’s bio tags her as a ‘chaotic wellness witch,’ I expected this book to be more witchy. There are no incantations, just the insight of a smart, irreverent human who has obviously done the work herself.” Petra Chambers reviews Shadow Work for Hot Messes: Transform from Chaos to Clarity by Embracing Your Authentic Self by Mandi Em (Toronto: Simon & Schuster, 2024) $24.99 / 9781507222997
“I would imagine this anthology as your new toolkit in a healthy pursuit towards your artistic natures. If anyone reading this is an artist at heart, I urge you to remember to think of the process as something you care about deeply.” Jeffrey Stychin reviews Bad Artist: Creating in a Productivity-Obsessed World by Nellwyn Lampert, Pamela Oakley, Christian Smith, Gillian Turnbull (eds.)(Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2024) $24 / 9781990071256
“The poor will always be with us. Reverend Al’s book challenges each of us on how we are going to respond. Do we, in Sonia Furstenau’s memorable phrase, continue to ‘drive our Lamborghinis through the tent city on Pandora Avenue?’ We can do better.” Richard Butler reviews Muddy Water: Stories from the Street, by Al Tysick (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers [Resource Publications], 2024) $25 (USD) / 9798385215010
Touching on drinking rates, the booze industry, and the addicted brain, the guide is also a tool for those worried about their own consumption rate (or that of someone close to them). —Daniel Gawthrop reviews You Don’t Have to Quit: 20 Science-Backed Strategies to Help Your Loved One Drink Less, by Maureen Palmer (with Michael Pond) (Vancouver: Page Two, 2024) $21.95 / 9781774584668
“Going to Seed is prefaced with an introduction that effectively situates the reader around Neville’s central thesis— consider what ‘being constantly occupied’ does to both an individual’s quality of life and the collective health of a community, society, and natural environment.” Natalie Virginia Lang reviews Going to Seed: Essays on Idleness, Nature, & Sustainable Work, by Kate J. Neville (Regina: University of Regina Press, 2024) $30.95 / 9781779400000
Debut book, a memoir, chronicles a typical middle-class suburban upbringing that’s followed by years of filling an existential “black hole” with harmful choices. —Carellin Brooks reviews Sunrise Over Half-Built Houses: Love, Longing and Addiction in Suburbia, by Erin Steele (Qualicum Beach: Dagger Editions, 2024) $26.00 / 9781773861500
“…this bounty of a missive both reflects on our contemporary crises and what, practically, can be done to bring health and healing to local communities again.” Ron Dart reviews Save Your City: How toxic culture kills community & what to do about it by Diane Kalen-Sukra (Toronto: Municipal World, 2024) $22.80 / 9780228810872
“The emphasis on our human ‘neuroplasticity’ or the ability of the nervous system to alter its functions and responses following injury, ends up giving the most accurate approach to why the pain occurs, while offering hope for possible re-configurings of its pertinacity, if not resolutions.” Catherine Owen reviews The Pain Project: A Couple’s Story of Confronting Chronic Pain, by Kara Stanley with Simon Paradis (Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2024) $26.95 / 9781771648400
