Wednesday 3 November 2010

Winter worries

You'll forgive a glimpse and foreshadowing of winter. With snow falling last weekend in Ontario,  we need to be prepared!

Carol 'A Woman's Way'

It is a good read, and a great story of a woman's courage. That is
- if you haven't just bought a property with acreage, where you fear snowmobiles encroaching on your property!
-if you haven't bought a home to escape the jetskis on the lake and sledders who can destroy a soft, snow-filled moment in an instant.
I'm just sayin'!

It has an environmental message, one that needs to be said. For sledders whose machines cause noise and air pollution, they mock those more inclined to walk carefully in the forest. This book convinces me that you can fight 'city hall', as it is our municipalities  who most profoundly affect everyday life.


With users in the US who invade National Parks on their sleds, this is a good story of empowerment. There are those carry this sport to its extreme, throw their trash on trails, and ram their way through precious bogs. I know, I have travelled their trails, picking up their garbage, a visual assault on the land.

I fear for our young people who cannot appreciate the solitude and the healing that a nature walk can bring. Kathy has created these moments in her crafted prose, creating a character with whom I could identify and understand. I could clearly imagine Carol walking on her precious land, as I have walked my trails.

I had been reading mysteries for months, while preparing to move, helping with a new grandbaby in another city. Books that included death, murder mystery and palliative care, entertaining for a time. This book was a good solid read about a good woman. It was an excellent change of pace.


Kathy and I traded books.
She was speaking to a women's group in Bracebridge.
I spoke to them later in the month about senior health care
.
Another reviewer wrote: Even those moments of not really understanding what was being shared, where the writing seemed to almost stumble, added to the intimacy of the experience. This woman will remain embedded in my psyche for many years because of the vital courage, openness and commitment of the shared experience with another woman. I recognised the emotional mess that she became at different times of her cycle. I recognised the power she was able to harness in company with the strength of the moon. I recognised the loneliness she felt in relation to her deeply passionate care for the earth, when all around her wanted her to be `reasonable'.

There are some missed editing opportunities, but for those of us who self-publish this is predictable. It is a bitter fight to get published in Ontario. And folks, like myself, cannot get much publicity without a large publisher behind us.



BTW
If you have written a book, be sure to have it reviewed on Amazon. It cannot hurt sales, and may help. Check out Kathy's book reviews.

Click icon for more book review blogs @Barrie Summy

3 comments:

Sarah Laurence said...

We just had a deep frost last night in Maine. I like the snow and blue skies better than grey November days. I’m also for quiet contemplation of nature. Good to see that issue getting page time.

Barrie said...

I noticed that this month's review wasn't about a mystery. ;) So glad you enjoyed the change. Thank you for this review. And I loved the photo of the two of you!

Friko said...

Just grey and dark here. Real November weather, except we've had a few mild days.

So there are still enough troubles to disturb you in cottage country too?
Wherever there are humans, there are troubles.