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Permanent Astonishment: A Memoir
By Tomson Highway. 2021
Capricious, big-hearted, joyful: an epic memoir from one of Canada’s most acclaimed Indigenous writers and performersTomson Highway was born in…
a snowbank on an island in the sub-Arctic, the eleventh of twelve children in a nomadic, caribou-hunting Cree family. Growing up in a land of ten thousand lakes and islands, Tomson relished being pulled by dogsled beneath a night sky alive with stars, sucking the juices from roasted muskrat tails, and singing country music songs with his impossibly beautiful older sister and her teenaged friends. Surrounded by the love of his family and the vast, mesmerizing landscape they called home, his was in many ways an idyllic far-north childhood. But five of Tomson's siblings died in childhood, and Balazee and Joe Highway, who loved their surviving children profoundly, wanted their two youngest sons, Tomson and Rene, to enjoy opportunities as big as the world. And so when Tomson was six, he was flown south by float plane to attend a residential school. A year later Rene joined him to begin the rest of their education. In 1990 Rene Highway, a world-renowned dancer, died of an AIDS-related illness. Permanent Astonishment: Growing Up in the Land of Snow and Sky is Tomson's extravagant embrace of his younger brother's final words: "Don't mourn me, be joyful." His memoir offers insights, both hilarious and profound, into the Cree experience of culture, conquest, and survival.The Running-Shaped Hole
By Robert Earl Stewart. 2022
Robert Earl Stewart weighs 368 pounds and struggles to catch his breath while talking. He starts running to save his…
life. Along the way he loses 140 pounds, ends up in jail, and eventually runs the Detroit Free Press Half-Marathon.Proud to Play: Canadian LGBTQ+ athletes who made history
By Erin Silver. 2021
The 2018 Winter Olympics marked a milestone for LGBTQ+ athletes. Thirteen athletes out of 3,000 competitors were out and proud…
— nearly double the number who felt comfortable sharing their sexuality four years earlier at the Sochi Games. Many athletes stay closeted for their entire sports careers, often unable to compete at their highest ability because of the shame and self-doubt they feel in not being true to their orientation or identity. But coming out still means facing harassment from fans, teammates, opponents, and the media, and a lack of sponsorship opportunities. While organizations like You Can Play, the Canadian Olympic Committee and Eagle Canada have made progress in recent years in promoting inclusivity at the grassroots and elite sporting levels, there is still much work to be done to ensure all athletes feel safe being their authentic selves. Athletes profiled include swimmer Mark Tewksbury, rhythmic gymnast Rose Cossar, professional hockey player Brock McGillis, speed skater Anastasia Bucsis, pairs figure skater Eric Radford, volleyball players Betty Baxter and Christopher Voth and hockey player Angela James. Generously illustrated with photographs and given context by an overview of the history of LGBTQ+ athletes in Canada, this book will make all young sports enthusiasts and competitors proud to play.All That Glitters: A Climber's Journey Through Addiction and Depression
By Margo Talbot. 2020
World-renowned ice climber Margo Talbot shares her compelling story of healing and self-discovery amid the frozen landscapes of the planet.…
Born and raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Margo Talbot grew up with a distant mother who “ruled the household with her eyes”; a father who opted to spend much of his time away from home; and four siblings struggling to deal with their particular domestic situation. As a result of her family’s dysfunction and her own growing mental illness, young Margo rarely smiled, had difficulty connecting with others, and was plagued with a black wave of anger and sadness that overshadowed much of the world around her. In time, drugs, alcohol, sex, and violence became her primary ways to connect with herself and others. From the depths of suicidal depression and a conversation with Death, Talbot eventually found solace and redemption in both the healing power of nature and the glory of climbing frozen landscapes in some of the world’s most pristine and challenging environments. Heartbreaking, honest, energizing, and inspiring All That Glitters is a remarkable memoir that shines a fresh light of hope on mental illness.Amazing Athletes: An All-Star Look at Canada's Paralympians
By Howard Scott, Phyllis Aronoff, Marie-Claude Ouellet. 2021
Playing the Long Game: A Memoir
By Christine Sinclair. 2022
NATIONAL BESTSELLERFor the first time in depth and in public, Olympic soccer gold-medalist Christine Sinclair, the top international goal scorer…
of all time and one of Canada's greatest athletes, reflects on both her exhilarating successes and her heartbreaking failures. Playing the Long Game is a book of earned wisdom on the value of determination and team spirit, and on leadership that changed the landscape of women's sport.Christine Sinclair is one of the world's most respected and admired athletes. Not only is she the player who has scored the most goals on the international soccer stage, male or female, but more than two decades into her career, she is the heart of any team she plays on, the captain of both Canada's national team and the top-ranked Portland Thorns FC in the National Women's Soccer League. Working with the brilliant and bestselling sportswriter Stephen Brunt, who has followed her career for decades, the intensely private Sinclair will share her reflections on the significant moments and turning points in her life and career, the big wins and losses survived, not only on the pitch. Her extraordinary journey, combined with her candour, commitment and decency, will inspire and empower her fans and admirers, and girls and women everywhere.The Mother of All Degrassi: A Memoir
By Linda Schuyler. 2022
Linda Schuyler, co-creator and executive producer of the long-running Degrassi series, shares her personal stories about the grit and determination…
it took to make it as a woman entrepreneur in the bourgeoning independent Canadian television industry of the early 1980s.Touch the top of the world: a blind man's journey to climb farther than the eye can see : my story
By Erik Weihenmayer. 2001
In this adventure-packed memoir, the author recalls rebelling against becoming blind by age fifteen. Relates acquiring a passion for mountaineering…
and developing the character traits that enabled him to succeed. Covers his climbing exploits and his wedding on top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Some strong language. 2001.The long-awaited sequel to Grant Lawrence’s bestselling memoir Adventures in Solitude. It’s been over a decade since renowned broadcaster and…
indie rock musician Grant Lawrence launched his writing career with the award-winning Adventures in Solitude, yet some things never change—including the winding Sunshine Coast Highway, close calls at the BC Ferries ticket office and carsick children. But this time, Lawrence returns as a husband and father, not as the vomiting and nerdy kid dragged along by his athletic and unflappable parents. In his inimitable, high-voltage style, Lawrence interweaves the rich and harrowing history of the Desolation Sound area with his own experiences of life on the coast. This lively book recounts the life and times of the legendary Cougar Lady, tracks a phantom-like squatter known as the Spaghetti Bandit, and details the bizarre exit and even more bizarre death of Bernard the German. Here too are many of the beloved personalities introduced in Lawrence’s first book, including hippie recluse Russell the Hermit, plus the continued voyages of Big Buck$, the decrepit family boat, and the incredible return of large ocean mammals to Desolation Sound. From a hilarious, heartfelt and slightly wiser voice comes a momentous story of time, family and place whirling around one increasingly ramshackle cabin on a beautiful and not-at-all-desolate coast.Levon: From Down in the Delta to the Birth of The Band and Beyond
By Sandra B. Tooze. 2020
A dazzling, epic biography of Levon Helm––the beloved, legendary drummer and singer of the Band. He sang the anthems of…
a generation: "The Weight," "Up on Cripple Creek," and "Life Is a Carnival." Levon Helm's story––told here through sweeping research and interviews with close friends and fellow musicians––is the rollicking story of American popular music itself. In the Arkansas Delta, a young Levon witnessed "blues, country, and gospel hit in a head-on collision," as he put it. The result was rock 'n' roll. As a teenager, he joined the raucous Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks, then helped merge a hard-driving electric sound with Bob Dylan's folk roots, and revolutionized American rock with the Band. Helm not only provided perfect "in the pocket" rhythm and unforgettable vocals, he was the Band's soul. Levon traces a rebellious life on the road, from being booed with Bob Dylan to the creative cauldron of Big Pink, the Woodstock Festival, world tours, The Last Waltz, and beyond with the man Dylan called "one of the last true great spirits of my or any other generation." Author Sandra B. Tooze digs deep into what Helm saw as a devastating betrayal by his closest friend, Band guitarist Robbie Robertson––and Levon's career collapse, his near bankruptcy, and the loss of his voice due to throat cancer in 1997. Yet Helm found success in an acting career that included roles in Coal Miner's Daughter and The Right Stuff. Regaining his singing voice, he made his last decade a triumph, opening his barn to the Midnight Rambles and earning three Grammys. Cancer finally claimed his life in 2012. Levon is a penetrating, skillfully told tale of a music legend from Southern cotton fields to global limelight.Gibby: Tales of a Baseball Lifer
By John Gibbons, Greg Oliver. 2023
Heroes of the game: true baseball stories
By Terry Egan. 1992
In this companion to The Good Guys of Baseball (DB 46409, BR 11625), the authors highlight nineteen players who exemplify…
sportsmanship and the love of the game. Includes major leaguer Roberto Clemente, who died on a mercy mission, and Jim Eisenreich, who plays with Tourette's syndrome. For grades 3-6. 1992The good guys of baseball: sixteen true sports stories
By Terry Egan. 1997
Sixteen biographies describing men in baseball who exemplify some of the best traits an athlete can possess on or off…
the field: loyalty, decency, determination, and the willingness to work hard. Included are Don Wardlow, a sportscaster who is blind, and Jim Abbott, a pitcher who was born with only one hand. For grades 3-6True: the four seasons of Jackie Robinson
By Kostya Kennedy. 2022
A biography of baseball great Robinson (1919-1972), focusing on four transformative years in Robinson's athletic and public life: 1946, his…
first year playing in the essentially all-white minor leagues for the Montreal Royals; 1949, when he won the Most Valuable Player Award as a Brooklyn Dodger; 1956, his final season in major league baseball; and 1972, the year of his untimely death. Some strong language. 2022Every second counts
By Lance Armstrong. 2003
Following his athletic comeback and defeat of cancer recounted in "It's Not about the Bike," cyclist Lance Armstrong describes a…
new appreciation for everyday family life, including the addition of twins. Details the training and effort needed to win his fifth Tour de France in 2003. Some strong language. BestsellerTravel writer describes the two years he spent studying kung fu at the Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Zen Buddhism…
and martial arts. Discusses his 1992 journey to China, where he absorbed the culture and came of age. Some strong language. For senior high and older readers. Alex Award. 2007The soul of a butterfly: reflections on life's journey
By Muhammad Ali, Hana Ali. 2005
Muhammad Ali's memoir focuses largely on his spiritual evolution from his childhood to his years as a boxing star, through…
fatherhood and into his role as a Parkinson's disease advocate and peace activistSkywriting: a life out of the blue
By Jane Pauley. 2004
Award-winning television news anchorwoman's autobiography, in which she pens her "personal process of discovery" from an upbringing in the Midwest…
to success on the Today and Dateline shows. Discusses her adult-onset bipolar disorder and family life with husband Garry Trudeau and their three children. BestsellerThe fields of fall: small-town high school football in Iowa
By Todd Weber. 2011
The Fields of Fall follows several high school football dynasties in Iowa for a year. The book is an enlightening…
and entertaining ride through the 2010 season; dissecting the teams' philosophies and telling the stories of the people and the communities that make the game so special. Fields of Fall captures the emotional power of the game, detailing the teams' journeys through a season of highs and lows - and describes the fun that everyone was having. 2011Harold Lloyd: master comedian (Lloyd, Harold Ser.)
By Jeffrey Vance, Suzanne Lloyd. 2002
Harold Lloyd (1893-1971), the famous Man Hanging from the Clockface, is, with Keaton and Chaplin, one of three geniuses of…
silent film comedy. With his trademark glasses, toothy grin, and character that vividly reflected the era of the 20s, Lloyd became the most popular comedian on the screen, producing more movies than Keaton and Chaplin combined. He created the language of thrill comedy, influencing not only his contemporaries, but also modern directors and writers as well - his race-to-the-rescue scene in Girl Shy was the model for the final sequence of The Graduate. This book is a vivid, behind-the-scenes account of Lloyd's movie making - the innovative techniques, the development of the elaborate and thrilling comic sequences, and the idea process - from his early days in silent film through his work in talking pictures. With glorious, never-before-published photographs, film stills from the archives of the Harold Lloyd Estate and Film Trust, and a text by film historian Jeffrey Vance and Lloyd's granddaughter Suzanne, the book paints a portrait of a master filmmaker and comedian.