Herstory 2012

Herstory 2012 The Canadian Women’s Calendar
by the Saskatoon Women’s Calendar Collective
Published by Coteau Books
Review by Michelle Shaw
$14.95 ISBN-13 9781550504545

It’s that time of year. Once again, shops are flooded with new calendars and we’re faced with our annual dilemma. Which one to choose?

For many women, the Herstory Calendar is the obvious choice. It’s easy to use, not too bulky and fits snugly into a handbag or backpack. And it offers a lot more than the average calendar. It’s a slice of history or, rather, Her Story. There are “snapshots” of Canadian women as they changed and inspired the world around them. From politicians to artists, athletes and health professionals, the stories offer us a glimpse of Canada through the eyes of women who changed our landscape.

This year the calendar includes Saskatoon-born Professor Wendy Duggleby, whose research into the physical well-being and psychological effects of hope on the terminally- ill patient has earned attention around the world; natural history photographer and writer, Rebecca Grambo, the award-winning author of more than twenty-five science and natural history books for adults and children, who lives in Warman, Saskatchewan; and Saskatoon-born Mary-Jo (MJ) DeCoteau, founder and Executive Director of Rethink Breast Cancer, who has helped to change the face of breast cancer in Canada by targeting a younger demographic and reminding us that breast cancer is not just an older woman’s disease.

Herstory 2012 also features inspirational quotes, artwork, photographs, poems and short articles on topics as diverse as the oldest known photo of a Canadian woman, Sisters in Spirit (a grassroots initiative to gather data, raise awareness and create support for hundreds of missing and murdered Aboriginal women across Canada) and the founding of the first Girl Guide unit in Canada in 1910.

The calendar features quick-calendar cover flaps, lined pages for easy note-making, details of holidays celebrated by Canadians of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds and significant dates in Canadian women’s history.

THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SkBOOKS.COM