Come Walk With Me searches to make sense of losses
Posted By Tara Seel, Central Plains Herald-Leader
Posted 16 days ago
So many people hold close to their hearts the traumatic story of April Raintree, a book that was published to great acclaim in 1983.
"In Search of April Raintree" explores the story of two Métis sisters as they struggle with loss, identity and racism. The powerful book ignited discussions in classrooms around the country, but many have wondered how much of April's story comes from the life of the woman who created her. Beatrice Mosionier (then Culleton) answers that question in her new book "Come Walk With Me." Published by Portage & Main Press in Winnipeg, "Come Walk With Me" is a moving memoir that follows a bewildered three year old through a dramatic journey to adulthood. Recounting a life that, at times, parallels that of her most memorable fictional character, and at others diverges from it, Mosionier searches to make sense of her losses — her sundered family, her innocence and her dignity — only to triumph as a woman and writer, fulfilled artistically, politically and personally.
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The Canadian Mennonite University has published a riveting memoir of a man who has had a specific impact on who they are as an institution. "A President's Journey: The Memoirs of Henry Poettcker" recounts Poettcker's passage from a Russian Mennonite farm boy to the president of the Canadian Mennonite Bible College (now CMU) and the president of Mennonite Biblical Seminary (now AMBS). Under his leadership, both institutions experienced major development and growth, and yet, where others would boast of such accomplishments, Dr. Poettcker reveals a modest life of devotion to God.
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Heartland Associates has published a new work of fiction by Rosina Sinopoli, the author's first. "Beloved" has all the hallmarks of a good story. It has the drama of rejection, revenge and redemption. Opening in southern Italy, the book focuses on Clara, the beautiful daughter of an ill-fated Calabrian family. Following an early life of servitude, Clara is banished — pregnant and penniless — to Canada. But in this new country, her resourcefulness and intelligence open doors she had never imagined and ultimately allow her to confront her tormentors as the reader races to discover whether revenge or redemption will prevail.
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A woman outside the box is the centre of Great Plains Publications' new work of fiction from Lisa Pasold. "Rats of Las Vegas" tells the story of Millard Lacouvy, who is short, plain, fiercely independent and a prodigy in the all-male world of poker. Millard learns the game, and learns it well, in Depression-era Vancouver and then graduates to high stakes games on the Canadian Pacific Railway. When the trains fail to satisfy either her ambition or her need for security, she goes to Bugsy Siegel's Las Vegas. There, she is haunted by the handsome conman she has known all her life, and she learns games of chance are not restricted to the poker table — love also fits the bill. Along the way, Pasold gives the reader a rich and convincing historical portrait of Vancouver and Vegas in the '40s.
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Richard Van Camp's recent release from Great Plains Publications extends the tradition of aboriginal storytelling. "The Moon of Letting Go and Other Stories" is humourously optimistic. The stories in this collection celebrate healing through modern-day rituals that honour the author's Dogrib ancestry. Van Camp speaks in a range of powerful voices: a violent First Nations gangster has an astonishing spiritual experience, a single mother is protected from her hex by a dangerous medicine man, and a group of young men pay tribute to a friend by streaking through their northern town. The stories are set in First Nations communities in the Northwest Territories, Vancouver and rural British Columbia. They have been broadcast on the CBC, and appeared in anthologies, "The Walrus," "Prairie Fire" and other journals, and published in Winnipeg.
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The Greeks mythologized about it, Leonardo da Vinci hinted at it and Jules Verne fantasized about it. Flight has captivated humanity from the beginning of time. Canada, with its vast and often unreachable territories, was an important testing ground for all aspects of early aviation. Great Plains Publications has put out a new non-fiction book by Jim Shilliday looking at Canada's fascination with and successes in flight. "A Memory of Sky: A Pilot's View of Canada's Century of Flight" is an illustrated history of both civil and military aviation written by a former RCAF jet fighter pilot.
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For kids, Manitoba publisher Pemmican Publications has put out "Kawlija's Blueberry Promise" by Audrey Guiboche, illustrated by Jim Kirby. The summer blueberry harvest is an annual expedition for young Kawlija and her family. When her family needs her to pick more berries than she eats, she promises to do her best. But can she avoid temptation? This enchanting story is also a rich portrait of rural Métis life in the '50s.
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