Miss G and Me
DriverWorks Ink / 27 April 2022

Miss G and Meby Jennifer S. WallacePublished by DriverWorks InkReview by Michelle Shaw$18.95 ISBN 9781927570753 Weaving together poems, journal entries, anecdotes and personal essays, Miss G and Me is a beautifully written memoir as well as an exploration of identity, culture, family and place. Jennifer Wallace grew up knowing the basics of her mother’s life. Ruth Williamson was born and grew up in Jamaica. She came to Saskatchewan to work as a nurse and married. But slowly Jennifer began to suspect that there was a lot more to her mother than she’d thought, especially when her sister answered the phone one day to hear a voice asking for Miss G. Jennifer has pieced together her mother’s story through countless interviews with family and friends and research into a myriad of topics. Vividly colored vignettes slip back and forwards through time and place as the book moves between Jamaica, London and Saskatchewan from 1948 to the present. Ruth was just 17 when she left her family in Jamaica to study nursing in London, England in 1961. She qualified as a State Registered Nurse (SNR), and then went on to specialize in midwifery. After finishing her training, she headed to Canada. There…