Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult that Bound My Life by Sarah Edmondson with Kristine Gasbarre San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2019; Vancouver: Raincoast Books, 2019 $24.99 (Canada); $27.95 (U.S.) / 9781797202396 Reviewed by Nathaniel G. Moore * When I was in my undergrad, I took a course on new religious…
Read more #706 Hitting life’s reset button
Arrow’s Fall by Joel Scott Toronto: ECW Press, 2019 $18.99 / 9781770414273 Reviewed by John Hutchings * This is the second book by Chemainus-based sailor and author Joel Scott, featuring the further adventures of his principal two characters and their old wooden boat, the Arrow. Having not read the first book, I can attest that…
Read more #705 Batten down the hatches
One Drum: Stories and Ceremonies for a Planet by Richard Wagamese Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2019 $18.95 / 9781771622295 Reviewed by Brian Fraser * My journey of communal and personal healing is very different from that of Richard Wagamese. We find our wisdom from different spiritual traditions, with different mentors, in different languages. But…
Read more #704 The humility to heal
A Field Guide to Marine Life of the Protected Waters of the Salish Sea by Rick M. Harbo Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2019 $7.95 / 9781550178531 * A Field Guide to Marine Life of the Outer Coasts of the Salish Sea and Beyond by Rick M. Harbo Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2019 $7.95 / 9781550178555…
Read more #703 Inner and outer coast marine life
DIY Mushroom Cultivation: Growing Mushrooms at Home for Food, Medicine, and Soil by Willoughby Arevalo Gabriola Island: New Society, 2019 $29.95 / 9780865718951 Reviewed by Gillian Crowther * Fungi in our intimate living spaces need not be a cause for dehumidifiers, urgent house repairs, or structural remediation. It can be cause for celebration — especially…
Read more #702 Hungry for home mushrooms
When Days are Long: Nurse in the North by Amy Wilson, with an introduction by Laurel Deedrick-Mayne Halfmoon Bay: Caitlin Press, 2019. First published in Sidney by Gray’s Publishing, 1965 $24.95 / 9781773860084 Reviewed by Heather Longworth Sjoblom * “Such a challenge! And I couldn’t resist it,” wrote Amy Wilson about her acceptance as field…
Read more #701 Nine years of northern nursing
UBC: The Next Century by Tyee Bridge, with a foreword by Santa J. Ono Vancouver: Figure 1 Publishing, 2019 $40.00 / 9781773270883 Reviewed by Herbert Rosengarten * From the beginning the University of British Columbia (UBC) has nurtured ambitions of greatness. Its potential was recognized by BC’s premier, Sir Richard McBride, who sent his congratulations…
Read more #700 The university of Point Grey
Once Well Beloved: Remembering a British Columbia Great War Sacrifice by Michael Sasges Victoria: Royal British Columbia Museum Press, 2019 $17.95 / 9780772672551 Reviewed by Sylvia Crooks * The national trauma of the First World War, even though it was fought over one hundred years ago, is still deeply felt today. Michael Sasges’ Once Well…
Read more #699 Reply to a cenotaph
Everything British Columbia. The Ultimate Book of Lists by Bethany Lindsay and Andrew Weichel Lunenburg, Nova Scotia: MacIntyre Purcell Publishing, 2019 $19.95 / 9781772761351 Reviewed by Patrick A. Dunae * How do you describe a book like this? In the Library and Archives Canada Cataloging in Publication entry, the subject heading for this book is…
Read more #698 Abbreviated British Columbia
Voices from the Skeena: An Illustrated Oral History by Robert Budd, illustrated by Roy Henry Vickers Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2019 $29.95 / 9781550178838 Reviewed by Tyler McCreary * On March 12, 2020, Voices from the Skeena: An Illustrated Oral History, by Robert Budd and Roy Henry Vickers, was one of five books shortlisted for…
Read more #697 Skeena echoes and silkscreens
A Year on the Wild Side: A West Coast Naturalist’s Almanac by Briony Penn Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2019 (second edition; first published by TouchWood, 1997) $26.00 / 9781771512671 Reviewed by Luanne Armstrong * I love to walk and often when I do, I stop often and look under my feet, through the forest, into the…
Read more #696 Handbook of west coast nature
Magic Moments in BC Sports: A Century in Photos by Kate Bird Vancouver: Greystone Books, 2019 $24.95 / 9781771644518 Reviewed by Timothy Lewis * There is something uniquely compelling about a photograph of a sporting moment…. [It] can … encapsulate the mood and magic, in a way that a televised event cannot, capturing a single…
Read more #695 BC sports snaps
A Deceptive Devotion: A Lane Winslow Mystery by Iona Whishaw Victoria: Touchwood Editions, 2019 $16.95 / 9781771513005 Reviewed by Kim Naqvi * “He doesn’t seem like the romantic type. I mean, he’s kind of old.” “The world is full of mysteries, Constable.” Clever dialogue, and an ear for human flight and fumbles, places Iona Whishaw’s…
Read more #694 My name is Lane Winslow
Rising Tides: Reflections for Climate Changing Times by Catriona Sandilands (editor) Halfmoon Bay: Caitlin Press, 2019 $24.95 / 9781773860183 Reviewed by Theresa Kishkan * As I write this review, fires are raging in California and Australia, and Venice is experiencing the worst flooding in fifty years. (The Guardian newspaper reported that the Veneto’s regional council…
Read more #693 Turning the tide on Galiano
Fishes of the Salish Sea (3 volumes) by Theodore Wells Pietsch and James Wilder Orr, illustrated by Joseph R. Tomelleri Victoria: Heritage House, 2019; Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2019 $179.00 / 9781772032932 Reviewed by Colin Levings * This book is an extraordinary addition to the natural history of the Salish Sea. Authors Theodore…
Read more #692 Fishes of the Salish Sea
Here I Am! by Pauline Holdstock Windsor, Ontario: Biblioasis, 2019 $21.95 / 9781771963091 Reviewed by Valerie Green * Rarely does a book draw me in from page one, but such was the case with Here I Am! by Pauline Holdstock. The protagonist is a delightful six year-old boy, Frankie West, and the reader soon learns…
Read more #691 Frankie goes to New York
Essential Fly Patterns for Lakes and Streams: Tips for Tying Your Own Flies by Brian Smith Halfmoon Bay: Caitlin Press, 2019 $24.95 / 9781773860008 Reviewed by Myles Armstead * When you Google “fly tying recipes,” you will discover website after website devoted to every aspect of the art of tying flies, from tube flies to…
Read more #690 A master’s fly patterns
Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante Montreal: Metonymy Press, 2019 $18.95 / 9780994047199 Reviewed by Paul Headrick * Are there popular reference works about successful TV shows? The Encyclopedia of Breaking Bad or A Viewer’s Guide to The Brady Bunch certainly wouldn’t have universal appeal, though perhaps there’d be a guaranteed readership…
Read more #689 Little Blue Island almanac
What is Long Past Occurs in Full Light by Marilyn Bowering Salt Spring Island: Mother Tongue Publishing, 2019 $21.00 / 9781896949727 Reviewed by P.W. Bridgman * Near the end of her new collection, What is Long Past Occurs in Full Light, Marilyn Bowering concludes a poem entitled “The Consolation of Philosophy” with these words: What…
Read more #688 How must it feel to write this way?
The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store by Cait Flanders Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 2018 $25.99 (U.S.) / 9781401954871 Reviewed by Natalie Lang * We live in a world where the culture of buying cheap and…
Read more #687 Less shopping, more clarity