Running to the Edge
An inspiring memoir that details one man’s determination to help disadvantaged children through the power of sport while dealing with the dramatic realities of his body’s own physical limitations.
In 2010, at age 55, Martin Parnell began tackling a series of extreme sporting challenges which became known as “Quests for Kids,” designed to he …
A Series of Dogs
John Armstrong uses his wry wit and vivid prose to evoke a life immeasurably enriched by one best friend after another. He tells boyhood tales of romping along the railroad tracks with Spooky the mutt, touching accounts of Sluggo the Rottweiler befriending sex workers, howl-inducing memories of laying a treasured friend to rest during a rain-and be …
Crossing Home Ground
Like John Muir, David Pitt-Brooke stepped out for a walk one morning--a long walk of a thousand kilometres or more through the arid valleys of southern interior British Columbia. He went in search of beauty and lost grace in a landscape that has seen decades of development and upheaval. In Crossing Home Ground he reports back, providing a day-by-da …
I Am a Metis
Gerry St. Germain's story begins in "Petit Canada" on the shores of the Assiniboine, growing up with his two younger sisters, his mother and his father--a shy Metis trapper and construction worker who sometimes struggled to put food on the table. St. Germain was initially troubled in school, scrapping with classmates and often skipping out to shoot …
Red Robinson
Red Robinson details the life and career of Red Robinson, one of Canada's most celebrated pioneers of rock and roll. Robinson began spinning hits while in high school in the early 1950s, laying the foundation for what would become a glamorous, impossible-to-stop and ultimately fulfilling career that has made him a household name west of the Rockies …
One Day as a Tiger
A revelatory and poignant memoir showing mountaineering at its extraordinary best and tragic worst as it draws an unforgettable picture of a dazzling, argumentative and exuberant climbing legend.
In the autumn of 1982, a single stone fell from high on the south face of Annapurna and struck Alex MacIntyre on the head, killing him instantly and robbin …
Casting Back
Covering a span of more than 60 years, these classic fishing essays are brought together for the first time, celebrating the thoughts, pleasures and adventures of a devoted angler and renowned storyteller as he fishes some of the timeless streams of Ireland, New Zealand and British Columbia.
Through the pages of Casting Back Peter McMullan takes th …
An Intimate Wilderness
Arctic researcher, author, and photographer Norman Hallendy’s journey to the far north began in 1958, when many Inuit, who traditionally lived on the land, were moving to permanent settlements created by the Canadian government. In this unique memoir, Hallendy writes of his adventures, experiences with strange Arctic phenomena, encounters with wi …
Such a Lovely Little War
This riveting, beautifully produced graphic memoir tells the story of the early years of the Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of a young boy named Marco, the son of a Vietnamese diplomat and his French wife. The book opens in America, where the boy's father works for the South Vietnamese embassy; there the boy is made to feel self-conscious abo …
Tomboy Survival Guide
Shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Writers' Trust of Canada Prize for Nonfiction; Longlisted for the BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction; Stonewall Book Award Honor Book winner; Longlisted for Canada Reads
Ivan Coyote is a celebrated storyteller and the author of ten previous books, including Gender Failure (with Rae Spoon) and One in Every C …
The Woods
"Amber McMillan's writing balances an eye for the unusual and resiliently beautiful with a sympathy for the frailties common to all her islanders."
-Kevin Chong, author of Baroque-a-Nova, Neil Young Nation and Beauty Plus Pity
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The Woods: A Year on Protection Island is a personal memoir that probes the unique and sometimes unsettling tenor of life …
The Defiant Mind
"What is a stroke?" This is the question that plagues Ron Smith as he emerges from the carpet bombing of his brain. The Defiant Mind: Living Inside a Stroke is a first-person account of a massive Ischemic stroke to the brain stem. Smith takes the reader inside the experience and shows how recuperation happens — the challenges of communication, th …
Don't Forget the Parsley
Marie Claire Lim Moore builds on her first memoir, Don't Forget the Soap, offering more entertaining stories about her family in this follow up. Like her first book, Don't Forget the Parsley is a collection of anecdotes from different points in Claire's life: stories from her second-generation immigrant childhood in Vancouver and New York City mix …
Brewing Revolution
The inspiring story behind today's craft beer revolution is the subject of this lively memoir by Frank Appleton, the English-trained brewmaster who is considered by many to be the father of Canada's craft-brewing movement. Appleton chronicles fifty years in the brewing business, from his early years working for one of the major breweries, to his pa …
Invasion of the Bastard Cannibals
What would cause a man to leave his sheltered and conservative home in the rural South to move to the hippie-infested left coast of Canada? A woman, obviously. In his second comic memoir, Nathan realizes that although he could make a homemade grenade as a ten-year-old, he is ill-equipped to handle a personal hygiene debate with cannibals, nude stri …
Letters to My Grandchildren
In these inspiring letters to his grandchildren, David Suzuki speaks eloquently about their future and challenges them to be agents of change and to do everything with commitment and passion. He also explains why sports, fishing, feminism, and failure are important; why it is dangerous to deny our biological nature; and why First Nations must lead …
No Way to Run
On September 3, 2010, the RCMP in Grande Prairie, Alberta, received a 911 call from Mat Crichton about a shooting on a local farm. Seconds later, miles from home, Holly Crichton got a shocking call from her son. "I just shot Dad," Mat told her. The violent end to a violent situation came as no surprise to the community; Holly and her sons had been …
Gently to Nagasaki
Gently to Nagasaki is a spiritual pilgrimage, an exploration both communal and intensely personal. Set in Vancouver and Toronto, the outposts of Slocan and Coaldale, the streets of Nagasaki and the high mountains of Shikoku, Japan, it is also an account of a remarkable life. As a child during WWII, Joy Kogawa was interned with her family and thousa …
In Search of the Ethical Lawyer
What options did Paul Bernardo’s lawyer have when his client directed him to retrieve hidden evidence? Where would David Milgaard be today if a lawyer hadn’t doggedly challenged his murder conviction? And what should a defence lawyer do when told her client is a danger to the public?
In this equally inspiring and troubling book, leading Canadia …
Surviving City Hall
With humour and humanity, Surviving City Hall reveals the workings of the municipal world based on author Donna Macdonald's nineteen years as a city councillor. Wrestling with ground squirrels, dealing with dogs and grappling with the Three Bears of Governance, Macdonald offers an insider's view into how things work at city hall in a call to citize …
Heart of the Raincoast
Originally published in 1998, this updated edition has a brand-new cover and interior design, with a new foreword by Alexandra Morton.
Billy Proctor was born in 1934 and has spent his entire life in a remote coastal community called Echo Bay, BC on an island off northern Vancouver Island. Proctor has always done the time-honoured work of generations …
The Fat Woman Next Door Is Pregnant
It is the glorious second day of May, 1942. The sun is drawing the damp from earth still heavy with the end of a long Quebec winter, the budding branches of the trees along rue Fabre and in Parc Lafontaine of the Plateau Mont Royal ache to release their leaves into the warm, clear air heralding the approach of summer.
Seven women in this raucous Fra …
It's Only the Himalayas
A laugh-out-loud travel memoir that reveals backpacking’s awkward side.
Sue, a disenchanted waitress, embarks upon a year-long quest around the world with her friend, Sara—who’s exasperatingly perfect. Expecting a whimsical jaunt of self-discovery, Sue instead encounters an absurd series of misadventures that render her embarrassed, terrified, …
Call of the World
Bill Graham – Canada’s minister of foreign affairs and minister of defence during the tumultuous years following 9/11 – takes us on a personal journey from his Vancouver childhood to important behind-the-scenes moments in recent global history. With candour and wit, he recounts meetings with world leaders, contextualizes important geopolitica …
The Call of the World
Bill Graham – Canada’s minister of foreign affairs and minister of defence during the tumultuous years following 9/11 – takes us on a personal journey from his Vancouver childhood to important behind-the-scenes moments in recent global history. With candour and wit, he recounts meetings with world leaders, contextualizes important geopolitica …
Flight Instructions for the Commitment Impaired
"Wanted: lesbian couple to foster wonderful eleven-year-old African American boy with gender identity issues."
Meet Antwan. Not only has he got gender issues, he's severely emotionally disturbed, severely demanding and, as he puts it, "born to argue."
In the late nineties, Nicola Harwood and her girlfriend moved to San Francisco in order to be at the …
Stalking Salmon & Wrestling Drunks
Each fisherman steps onto the docks, sees Peter Gordon's boat the MV Kalua, glances at the other members of the charter and feels a rush of anticipation. The challenge is on to see who will catch the biggest fish.
Told with a skipper's authority, Stalking Salmon and Wrestling Drunks recounts the highs and lows of fishing with tourists, including de …
Further Confessions of a Small Press Racketeer
Further Confessions of a Small Press Racketeer takes up where Stuart Ross’s Confessions of a Small Press Racketeer left off in 2005. Memoir, tirade, unsolicited advice — this new volume is drawn largely from Stuart’s notorious “Hunkamooga” column that ran in subTerrain, but also includes pieces from his blog as well as previously unpublis …
Wasted
Psychotherapist Michael Pond is no stranger to the devastating consequences of alcoholism. He has helped hundreds of people conquer their addictions, but this knowledge did not prevent his own near-demise. In this riveting memoir, he recounts how he lost his practice, his home, and his familyall because of his drinking. After scores of visits to …
Oscar of Between
In 2007, at the age of sixty, Betsy Warland finds herself single and without a sense of family. On an impulse, she decides to travel to London to celebrate her birthday, where she experiences an odd compulsion to see an exhibit on the invention of military camouflage. Within the first five minutes of her visit, her lifelong feeling of being aberran …
Boats in My Blood
The name Farrell is synonymous with quality boats to those in the know up and down the British Columbia coast. Working in and around Pender Harbour on the Sunshine Coast, Barrie's father, Allen Farrell, was a much loved eccentric and noted wooden boat builder who created offshore sailing vessels from beachcombed lumber using only basic hand tools. …
Wolf Spirit
When diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour, Gudrun Pflüger was told she had eighteen months left to live. Taking the wolf—a true “endurance athlete”—as her model, she immerses herself in the wilderness of the mountain ranges of western Canada and focuses her mind and body on a mysterious and inspirational path toward self-healing.
Throu …
Rough Ground Revisited
Covering Rough Ground, Kate Braid’s first book, was published in 1991 and awarded the Pat Lowther Award for Best Book of Poetry by a Canadian Woman. Since then Kate has written extensively in prose, poetry and on CBC Radio about her and other women’s experiences in the construction trades. Her work has been highly praised by women in almost eve …
My Father's Son
A classic wartime memoir from one of Canada’s most treasured writers.
The follow-up to And No Birds Sang, Farley Mowat’s memoir My Father’s Son charts the course of a family relationship in the midst of extreme trial. Taking place during Mowat’s years in the Italian Campaign, the memoir is mostly told through original letters between Mowat a …
Last Dance in Shediac
A vividly wrought memoir, Last Dance in Shediac is a collection of the author’s personal memories of her mother—celebrated Canadian artist Molly Lamb Bobak—and a tender meditation on life and death.
“I had always assumed that neither of my parents would end up in an old folks’ home. And yet here was Mum, ensconced in a world of pad-covered …
