We don’t choose the families we’re born into.  And that goes for young children who are adopted into families as well.  Like Alfred, or Alfie as he’s known – an eleven year old boy who grew up in poverty in Scotland is sent to Canada....

Why would turning eleven years old be shocking?  But it is for Oma in the gripping story called “Rubber.”  It’s part of a collection of short stories called Step by award winning writer Deborah Ellis.  She explores the experience...

Award winning filmmaker Ann Shin’s debut novel is a harrowing story about love, sacrifice and the meaning of freedom.  The Last Exiles centres on a young couple, Suja and Jin, who live in North Korea and face incredible challenges to be to...

To me a library has always been a magical place – a place of discovery, worlds unknown, and the unexpected.  Writer Cyrille Martinez, a librarian himself,  writes about the magical library.  His story is a loving meditation on th...

Can you imagine if all your friends are superheroes?  And you’re not?!  That’s Tom’s life.  In fact, he’s even married to one – The Perfectionist.  Everything’s going great until their wedding day.  Then something ha...

You may think a Parisian restaurant is the epitome of elegance, class, and of coursegastronomic delights. But Edward Chisolm saw a completely different world on the other sideof the kitchen door – as a Parisian waiter. Get ready for a w...

Here is the perfect passage to end your day.  Peaceful, poetic and beautifully reflective.Writer Kirstijana Gunnars takes you to the lush and dreamy landscape of the B.C. interior where she once lived in a small cottage.  <...

There comes a time when roles reverse and you the child must take care of your own parent. The short story “Joy of Vicks” by Sidura Ludwig captures the powerful push and pull a daughter feels - the myriad of conflicting feelings - w...

We've had a super busy summer, so we've had to extend our break just a little longer. Our apologies, but we'll be back on our new date of Wednesday, September the 14th with more compelling passages from books old and new. We'll explore love, de...

Summer's almost here and it's time for us to take a break!We've loved sharing all the wonderful stories provided by our partners Harper Collins, House of Anansi Press and Coach House Books.  A big thank you to them along with...

This book profoundly moved and surprised me. I don’t recall reading a novel in which old age is depicted with such tenderness, sensitivity and passion.  Not surprisingly,  this book has received many honours including being sho...

There’s always been a fascination for the Romanovs – the last imperial family of Russia.  Much has been written about Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra.  But Olga, the eldest of the five children h...

Barbados 1962.  A lost soul named Lapetus roams the island, scared and alone, after witnessing a traumatic event.  Then a generation later,  his granddaughter Calypso is born and carries deep within her the secrets of the past.&n...

Award winning French/Cree/Iroquois journalist Brandi Morin is a survivor of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ crisis.  And she has reported and shared indigenous stories internationally for the last decade.  In her ...

Liv Green is a maid but really wants to be a writer.  That’s been her dream all her life.  And as luck would have it, she lands a housekeeping job with her idol -  bestselling author Essie Starling.   Essie’s a bit eccentric...

There is an indescribable joy in becoming a new parent.  In this powerful excerpt from “Secret Lives of Mothers and Daughters,” that joy is experienced by Nandini.  She becomes a new mother on the day her adopted baby girl arrives at ...

We are all a product of our past.  But how do we deal with troubling events that have shaped us – and move on to find acceptance and our place in the world?  This is an excerpt from the book of short stories  “All the Shining Peo...

It is the first century AD in Britain.  An era of druids and pagan traditions.  This is the story of a mother and daughter and the formidable challenges they face as their ancient way of survival is threatened by a new world order.&nb...

The life of one of America’s greatest poets - Emily Dickinson - is celebrated in a novel by Dominique Fortier.  It’s called “Paper Houses.”  The book contains short vignettes from Emily’s childhood to adulthood in Amherst Massachusett...

Hard to believe this is Cherie Jones’s debut novel.  Raw and powerful, “How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House” explores what happens when two worlds separated by race and class, collide.  Lala and her husband Adan, a petty crimina...

Award winning writer Martha Batiz writes about issues close to her heart in her new book “No Stars In The Sky:”  the plight of migrant children along the Mexico-US border, the tragedy of the disappeared, and the racial and domestic violenc...

This is a repeat of an episode originally aired on Dec 29, 2021You’ve probably heard the saying “you don't get to choose the family you’re born into.”   But what if you’re an orphan?  There’s no choice in family there ei...

At first the argument with your spouse or partner seems trivial, banal even. You shrug and get on with things.  But the argument happens again and again in different variations - comments veiled in a dismissive kindness until you can’t tak...

This is a story told by a daughter, Chidiogo Akuniyili-Parr who assumes her mother’s voice in the book "I Am Because We Are.”  Her mother, Dora Akuniyili, believed in the African philosophy of Ubuntu: the importance of community over the i...

This is truly a stunning short story told simply and powerfully.  “Laundry” by Deborah Ellis captures a shocking moment in the life of a young boy but gently wraps it in a universal truth.  Masud is an 11 year old in a Libyan migrant ...