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The blind mechanic: the amazing story of Eric Davidson, survivor of the 1917 Halifax Explosion
By Marilyn Elliott, Janet Kitz. 2018
Eric Davidson was a beautiful, fair-haired toddler when the Halifax Explosion struck, killing almost 2,000 people and seriously injuring thousands…
of others. Eric lost both eyes-a tragedy that his mother never fully recovered from. Eric, however, was positive and energetic. He also developed a fascination with cars and how they worked, and he later decided, against all likelihood, to become a mechanic. Assisted by his brothers who read to him from manuals, he worked hard, passed examinations, and carved out a decades-long career. Once the subject of a National Film Board documentary, Eric Davidson was, until his death, a much-admired figure in Halifax. Written by his daughter Marilyn, this book gives new insights into the story of the 1917 Halifax Explosion and contains never-before-seen documents and photographs. Winner of the 2019 The Robbie Robertson Dartmouth Book Award (Non-Fiction). 2018.Dubbed "the Jesse James of Canada," Norman "Red" Ryan was infamous in the 1920s and '30s until he was gunned…
down in an attempted robbery in Sarnia, Ontario. Ernest Hemingway wrote about Ryan's escape from Kingston Penitentiary for the Toronto Star, Morley Callaghan based a novel on him and stories of Ryan and his crimes filled newspapers and airwaves. One of the first Canadians to be granted parole, he was held up by Prime Minister R.B. Bennett as a model of rehabilitation and became a regular guest at Toronto police picnics. All the while, however, Ryan was continuing a crime spree on the side. Jim Brown, filmmaker and CBC Radio host, tells the incredible true story of "Red" Ryan, a larger-than-life criminal whose fame and legend were much encouraged by the media--he was the "Kardashian" of the time--and whose story endures.Growing up hockey: the life and times of everyone who ever loved the game /
By Brian Kennedy. 2007
Many of us grew up scoring a thousand glorious NHL goals in our minds, and on our streets and corner…
rinks. We won the Stanley Cup over and over in our imaginations. What happened to those childhood heroics? We packed them in a box with our hockey cards and forgot them. Growing Up Hockey uses the heartwarming and comical exploits of a house-league third-liner to prompt us to re-live our memories of hockey glory. It shows that for those who love it, the game is never far away. Bobby Hull, Frank Mahovlich, Wayne Gretzky they're all here. But equally large are the neighbourhood rink bullies, the Pee Wee league super-starts and the obsessed NHL aficionados. Together, they create a hockey myth as grand as ever existed and as unique as each of us. 2007.My River: Cleaning up the LaHave River
By Stella Bowles. 2018
Stella Bowles was a Grade 6 Nova Scotia student when she turned environmental activist to campaign against sewage pipes draining…
straight into the LaHave River. This is the inspirational first person account of Stella's Grade 6 science fair project which caught the eyes of the media, the public and government leaders propelling her into the limelight. Stella details her two and a half year fight to clean up the river, winning numerous awards for her environmental activism along the way. She succeeds in shaming three levels of government and rallying supporters into funding a $$15.7 million cleanup. Today, she continues to campaign for cleaner water and demonstrates to other children how to test water quality in their own backyards, and how to take action if they find their water is polluted too. Grades 3-6.We have always been here: a queer Muslim memoir /
By Samra Habib. 2019
Growing up in Pakistan, Samra Habib lacks a blueprint for the life she wants. She has a mother who gave…
up everything to be a pious, dutiful wife and an overprotective father who seems to conspire against a life of any adventure. Plus, she has to hide the fact that she's Ahmadi to avoid persecution from religious extremists. As the threats against her family increase, they seek refuge in Canada, where new financial and cultural obstacles await them. When Samra discovers that her mother has arranged her marriage, she must again hide a part of herself--the fun-loving, feminist teenager that has begun to bloom--until she simply can't any longer. So begins a journey of self-discovery that takes her to Tokyo, where she comes to terms with her sexuality, and to a queer-friendly mosque in Toronto, where she returns to her faith in the same neighbourhood where she attended her first drag show. Along the way, she learns that the facets of her identity aren't as incompatible as she was led to believe, and that her people had always been there--the world just wasn't ready for them yet. 2019.Meet Tom Longboat (Scholastic Canada Biography Ser.)
By Elizabeth MacLeod. 2019
On April 19, 1907, a hundred thousand people lined up to watch the eighth running of the Boston Marathon. At…
the start of the race, more than one hundred runners surged forward, and at the end, Tom Longboat won it in an record-breaking 2 hours, twenty-four minutes, and twenty-four seconds. He became the most famous runner in the world, yet faced scrutiny and criticism of every part of his life, from his revolutionary training techniques to his Indigenous heritage. After the peak of his running career, Tom volunteered for military service in World War I. He survived, and faced further challenges upon his return. But Tom Longboat continued to live his life on his own terms, and his legacy as Canada's foremost distance runner continues to be recognized to this day. Grades K-3. 2019.Chasing smoke: a wildfire memoir /
By Aaron Williams. 2017
An enthralling insider-account of how a fire season unfolds. Experienced firefighter Aaron Williams shares what it's like to work sixteen-hour…
days in an apocalyptic landscape, where the smoke is so thick your snot runs black and you need to drink ten litres of water a day. Williams chronicles the seasonal existence of a firefighter, all while examining the wider world of firefighting - interweaving the history, mechanics and politics - as well as the micro-world of the small crew who willingly put their lives on the line. 2017.Jan in 35 pieces: a memoir in music /
By Ian Hampton. 2018
Mistakes to run with: a memoir /
By Yasuko Thanh. 2019
Mistakes to Run With chronicles the turbulent early years of Yasuko Thanh's life, from a rough childhood to her teen…
years as a sex worker to her emergence as a writer. Growing up in a housing project in Victoria, BC, Thanh rebels against her extremely religious parents. She's an honours student, but also a nascent delinquent, cutting herself and getting arrested for shoplifting. By fifteen her parents have kicked her out. She runs away repeatedly from foster homes, acquiring a taste for drugs and alcohol and learning unlikely lessons about sex, power, and friendship. By the time she enters the world of sex work she feels completely abandoned--by her family, her friends, her school, and society. After a stint in jail at sixteen, she meets her pimp, Jesse, and falls in love. The next chapter of her life takes us from the motel rooms of Victoria to the streets of Vancouver, as Thanh endures further hardship: beatings, arrests, Jesse's crack cocaine addiction, and an unwanted pregnancy. It's the act of writing that ultimately becomes a solace from her suffering--but even as publication and awards bolster her, she remains haunted by her past. 2019.Always smile: Carley Allison's secrets for laughing, loving and living /
By Alice Kuipers. 2019
Carley Allison was an up-and-coming young figure skater and singer who died tragically at the age of 18 of a…
cancer so rare there were only seven cases in the world. In this book, you will come to know Carley in her own words and in the words of the people who knew and loved her. Kuipers weaves the memories of Carley's friends, family, and boyfriend with the blog Carley kept throughout her journey, from the moment she was diagnosed until her final months of searching for treatment that would keep the disease at bay. Kuipers also recreates pivotal moments from Carley's point of view, acting as ventriloquist for a voice lost too young. This book is built around the words she lived by, both in sickness and in health. Above all, again and again, she summed up her philosophy in two words: always smile. For senior high readers. 2019.Deep water dream: a medical voyage of discovery in rural Northern Ontario /
By Gretchen Roedde. 2018
In underserved areas of Canada, the communities themselves can be one of the strongest parts of the health care team.…
Dr. Gretchen Roedde, a physician who has been working in northern Ontario since the late 1970s, shows how local communities play a major role in responding to illness, birth, and death, making each more meaningful and bearable. She recounts stories from her long career, from working with a Cree community to develop a medical dictionary in their own language and training community-based health workers to delivering Amish babies in her house and conducting a house call with a priest to minister to a dying French-Canadian woman. In Roedde's stories, the boundaries between physician and community are redrawn, strengthening the capacity to care for those close by, in a hopeful and powerful example for the rest of the world. 2018.Carey Price: how a First Nations kid became a superstar goaltender / (Recordbooks)
By Catherine Rondina. 2018
The son of an NHL draftee and the chief of the Ulkatcho First Nation, Carey Price got his start on…
skates as a toddler, first on a frozen creek and then on his father's homemade rink. The natural athlete went on to become one of the top amateur players in Canada in 2002, getting drafted fifth overall by the famed Montreal Canadiens three years later. Now one of the most recognizable figures in hockey, Carey credits his success to his community of Anahim Lake, British Columbia, where hard work and commitment often faced off against remoteness and cost. Throughout his incredible career, he's taken every opportunity possible to encourage all young people, especially those who share his indigenous background, to follow their dreams. Grades 6-9. 2018.Mourning has broken: love, loss and reclaiming joy /
By Erin Davis. 2019
On the morning of May 11, 2015, Erin Davis, one of Canada's most beloved radio personalities, suffered a devastating blow…
when her daughter Lauren, who had marked a joyous Mother's Day with her husband and young son only hours before, failed to awaken to her baby's cries. Thus began Erin's journey of grieving out loud with her family, friends and listeners, and of demonstrating by example how to pick up and keep going after suffering the worst loss a parent can endure. 2019.On the rocks with Jack Knox: islanders I will never forget /
By Jack Knox. 2018
From author and columnist Jack Knox comes a new collection of unforgettable true stories about the people who shape the…
unique culture of Vancouver Island and its surrounding areas. Full of humanity, heart, and sometimes humour, he celebrates ordinary people who have extraordinary stories to tell. From Alban Michael, the last person on Earth to speak Nuchatlaht, to Diana Deans, the Port Angeles customs inspector who caught the Millennium Bomber, to Victoria's Rudi Hoenson, who survived a Japanese labour camp and the atomic bomb at Nagasaki to become one of the happiest souls you'll ever meet, the people in this fascinating volume represent all walks of life. Elders, heroes, criminals, and oddballs are all worthy subjects in the world of Jack Knox. 2018.The cowkeeper's wish: a genealogical journey /
By Tracy Kasaboski. 2018
In the 1840s, a young cowkeeper and his wife arrive in London, England, having walked from coastal Wales with their…
cattle. They hope to escape poverty, but instead they plunge deeper into it, and the family, ensconced in one of London's "black holes," remains mired there for generations. Nearly a hundred years later, their great-granddaughter finds herself in an altogether different London, in southern Ontario. In the book Kristen den Hartog and Tracy Kasaboski trace their ancestors' path to Canada, using a single family's saga to give meaningful context to a fascinating period in history--Victorian and then Edwardian England, the First World War and the Depression. 2018.The suitcase & the jar: travels with a daughter's ashes /
By Becky Livingston. 2018
In 2010 a brain tumour took the life of Becky Livingston's daughter, Rachel. Twenty-three years old and an avid traveller,…
it was her dying wish to keep traveling. Eighteen months later, still reeling from her loss, Livingston sets off overseas, alone, untethered, and determined to continue her daughter's journey. She felt certain that seeing the world through Rachel's eyes would bring her some peace. In her suitcase-Rachel's ashes, heavy but compact travelled with her. With no agenda or timeline, Livingston travelled the world for twenty-six months-Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Australia, India, England, Ireland and North America-leaving her daughter's ashes wherever she went. It was a ritual. Merging her daughter's soul with the elements, Livingston gradually finds points of belonging for them both. 2018.Lightfoot
By Nicholas Jennings. 2017
Takes us deep inside Gordon Lightfoot’s world, from his idyllic childhood in Orillia, the wild sixties, and his canoe trips…
into Canada’s North to his heady times atop the music world. Jennings explores the toll that success took on his personal life - including his troubled relationships, his battle with alcohol and his near-death experiences - and the extraordinary drive and tenacity that pulled him through it all. Rich in voices from fellow musicians, close friends, Lightfoot’s family and the singer’s own reminiscences, the biography tells the stories behind some of his best-known love songs, including “Beautiful” and “Song for a Winter’s Night,” as well as the infidelity and divorce that resulted in classics like “Sundown” and “If You Could Read My Mind.” Bestseller. 2017.Defying limits: lessons from the edge of the universe
By Dave Williams. 2018
Dr. Dave Williams shares the events that have defined his life, showing us that whether we're gravity-defying astronauts or earth-bound…
terrestrials, we can all live an infinite, fulfilled life by relishing the value and importance of each moment. The greatest fear that we all face is not the fear of dying, but the fear of never having lived. Each of us is greater than we believe. And, together, we can exceed our limits to soar farther and higher than we ever imagined.Son of a Critch: a childish Newfoundland memoir
By Mark Critch. 2018
What could be better than growing up in the 1980s? How about growing up in 1980s Newfoundland, which as Mark…
Critch will tell you, was more like the 1960s. Critch takes us to where it all began in this tremendously funny and warm look back on his formative years. Growing up in a (very) small town wasn't easy, and Catholic school was a confusing setting that prompted many unexpected adventures. And when your father is the local radio personality, and your mother can't stop talking at all, life at home is always entertaining.The stovepipe: a memoir
By Bonnie E. Virag. 2011
Bonnie, age four, along with four of her siblings, was taken from her home in rural Canada and placed with…
the Children's Aid Society. Over the next fourteen years, the children are split up and reunited multiple times. By luck or providence, the four sisters spend the majority of their lives together working on a tobacco farm and living in an attic, where the stovepipe offers warmth, comfort, and news from the outside world. This is her testament to the resilience of the soul and the importance of family, friendship and fortitude.