Courage and a Castle: A Tribute to a Remarkable Womanby W.J. KoczkaPublished by Wood Dragon BooksReview by Sally Meadows$24.99 ISBN 9781990863950 I can’t imagine a more meaningful tribute to a parent than chronicling their life story in a published book so that many can benefit from their wisdom and grace. Author W.J. Koczka does exactly that, with respect, gratitude, honour, humour, and above all, love, in her new book Courage and a Castle, a memoir of her years with her remarkable mother, Mary. Koczka does an admirable job detailing the resilience and steadfastness (“courage”) with which her mother navigated life’s many challenges. The “castle” referenced is none other than Saskatoon’s own Delta Bessborough, where Mary built her career, providing not only income and stability for her family, but also where her children learned about the value of hard work and the importance of being dedicated to whatever work is at hand. Courage and a Castle is also a story of Mary’s deep faith, rooted in a devastating event early in her marriage that changed the course of her life forever. Koczka lovingly shares how Mary navigated trials without complaint or lament, all while raising six children and working full time…

Walking Together: The Future of Indigenous Child Welfare on the PrairiesEdited by Jason Albert, Dorothy Badry, Don Fuchs, et al.Published by University of Regina PressReview by Toby A. Welch  $39.95 ISBN 9780889778900 This fascinating book touches on so many topics. Walking Together begins by diving into why it is such a struggle for so many families to access services for their children. We then get right into Bill C-92, the connection between FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) and colonization, and the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in care. We learn about the importance of supporting Indigenous child welfare workers as well as how Indigenous people are making changes in the welfare systems for their children.  As I went through the chapters, I loved the constant reinforcement that one of the ways forward for Indigenous children is with culture and a sense of belonging through Indigenous stories and traditions. We need to remember the past while we look toward the future.  I value books that don’t steer away from tough issues. Life blows sometimes and reality can be harsh. So even though it was uncomfortable, I appreciated reading about topics such as the forced sterilization of Indigenous girls and women. As we dove into the…

“Nakón-wico’i’e né uspénic’iciyac/Practising Nakoda: A Thematic Dictionary”by Vincent Collette, Tom Shawl and Wilma KennedyPublished by University of Regina PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$27.95 ISBN 9781779400185 Language and cultural identity are intrinsically connected, and for the Nakoda people, who believe that “language is a gift of the Creator,” the Nakoda language is, “through prayers and songs, the means by which important cultural values and spiritual knowledge are transmitted from generations to generations.” This is the first tenet I learned in the tri-authored book, Nakón-wico’i’e né uspénic’iciyac/Practising Nakoda: A Thematic Dictionary, published by University of Regina Press. In Canada, Nakoda (aka Stoney or Assiniboine) is spoken by an estimated 50-150 people … and they’re aging. Understanding the import of language to one’s culture, Vincent Collette—professor of linguistics at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi—teamed with Montana’s Tom Shawl (former Nakoda culture and language instructor at the Aannii Nakoda College) and activist Wilma Kennedy (d. 2020), who lived on the Carry the Kettle Nakoda First Nation in Saskatchewan and had previously worked with Collette on two other Nakoda books (including a concise dictionary), to create a “thematic” dictionary for Nakoda-learners. The thematic dictionary makes learning Nakoda easier as Nakoda’s a “polysynthetic language where…

Uncut: A Cultural Analysis of the Foreskinby Johnathan A. AllanPublished by University of Regina PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$32.95 ISBN 97817794003307 Uncut: A Cultural Analysis of the Foreskin is a well-researched interdisciplinary book by Manitoba professor Jonathan A. Allan, and though it’s structured like most academic books I’ve read—with an introduction, an appendix, an impressive bibliography and index, and conclusions at the end of each chapter—the subject matter is completely unique, and perhaps not one my aunt will be discussing in her book club. Uncut gets up close and personal with foreskins. It includes the age-old debates concerning circumcision; aesthetics; the penis in art; the topic of cut/uncut sexuality; foreskin restoration; and it speaks of “the ongoing fear of the foreskin, since the foreskin is so absent from American culture.” Allan’s no stranger to sensitive topics. The Canada Research Chair in Men and Masculinities at Brandon University previously authored Reading from Behind: A Cultural Analysis of the Anus. I was curious to learn why he writes about “really rather odd topics”—like the pros and cons of foreskins—and found my answer in his introduction: “While it may be tempting to dismiss the foreskin as an irrelevant object ofstudy, I argue the…

“#BlackInSchool”by Habiba Cooper DialloPublished by University of Regina PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$20.95 ISBN 9780889778184 Young Halifax writer Habiba Cooper Diallo has much to say about being a Black student at a Halifax high school that prides itself on being the “most diverse school east of Montreal”. #BlackInSchool is her non-fiction account of the International Baccalaureate student’s frequent experience with racism, and it clearly airs her frustrations with the “complete absence of cultural competency on the part of staff/administrators and many students,” and with the school’s curriculum itself. The writer decries the “graphic whitewashing of school through posters;” says “Africa, the hashtag, [is] inserted like a punctuation mark wherever empathy is needed;” and disparages “the Eurocentric approach to learning”. She writes letters to politicians and administrators, and creates a petition re: equity for Black students at Dalhousie University. Interestingly, this unsettling story’s told via journal entries Cooper Diallo wrote in Grades 11 and 12 (2011-2014). The author’s articulate and mature, but some of her activities (ie: “chatting for hours in the mall’s food court” with friends) are also youthful, and she adopts the Twitter-world’s # (hashtag) in her title—a symbol rarely used in formal writing—and throughout the book to reiterate…

“Tricky Grounds: Indigenous Women’s Experiences in Canadian University Administration”by Candace Brunette-DebassigePublished by University of Regina PressReview by Sally Meadows$34.95 ISBN 9780889779778 Tricky Grounds is a passionate reflection by author Candace Brunette-Debassige as she documents “the experiences and challenges that Indigenous women administrators face in enacting Indigenizing policies in Canadian universities” (p. 10) with an eye towards “more transformative, decolonial approaches to Indigenous leadership and policy practices” (p. 10). The book begins with a personalized account of what led to Brunette-Debassige’s own research–this is her published PhD dissertation–followed by a critical (i.e. important) review of historical policies, institutional approaches, university participation, teaching agendas, and research agendas as they pertain to Indigenous people from the 1800s to present. Highlighted is the consistently and devastatingly undermined, marginalized, suppressed, and even silenced, non-European (particularly for the context of this book, Indigenous) ways of knowing of traditional Euro-Western universities. I was shocked to read, for example, that the Indian Act of 1876 forced First Nation men (and later, women) who wanted to attend university to “surrender their Treaty rights and terminate their Indigenous legal status and…reserve lands” (p. 33-34), a legality that remained in place until 1951. I champion this book as an invaluable resource…

Cupboard Loveby Mark MortonPublished by Shadowpaw Press RepriseReview by Michelle Shaw$29.99 ISBN 9781998273355 If you’ve ever wondered about the plural of asparagus (asparagi), or the origins of Camembert (invented during the French revolution) or why there are so many spellings of perogie…perogey…piroghi (it’s complicated),then wonder no more. Mark Morton’s extensively researched Cupboard Love: A Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities explores the definitions and origins of a vast array of culinary terms in a fascinating and very witty way. From à la (as in à la carte and à la king) to zuppa inglese, Morton examines how the definitions of words have developed – sometimes far from their original meanings. This is actually the third edition of the book (so clearly, it’s stood the test of time) and it has been updated and expanded. It was originally published in 1996 and was one of three books nominated for a 1996 Julia Child Cookbook Award in the Food Reference/Technical Category (Calphalon Award) and was included in The Globe and Mail’s list of “required reading” notable books for 1997. I’m a linguistic nerd so I was fascinated about Morton’s research process through the years. When the book was first published in 1996, his primary…

Prison Born: Incarceration and Motherhood in the Colonial Shadowby Robin F. HansenPublished by University of Regina PressReview by Toby A. Welch$32.95 ISBN 9781779400079 Did I ever learn a lot from Prison Born! I’m humbled to admit that so much goes on in our blessed country that I am clueless about. This book left me feeling like I’d been walloped upside the head with a battering ram of information. (Although none of that surprises me as this is a University of Regina Press book, a publishing house that puts out well-researched, thought-provoking books that have an impact and educate readers.) Saskatchewan has a policy – it’s been applied for decades – that every baby born to an incarcerated woman is immediately removed from its mother’s care. (The same policy is in play in most of Canada as well as most states in the US.) A true scenario involving Jacquie, an Indigenous woman from a Treaty 6 First Nation who is in her third trimester, carries throughout the book. Incarcerated in Prince Albert, she is terrified about what will happen to her child when he is born. Her story kept me glued to the pages, eager to discover the outcome. You’ll find so…

Banana Capital: Stories, Science, and Poison at the Equatorby Ben BrisboisPublished by University of Regina PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$34.95 ISBN 9781779400345 Dole. Chiquita. Del Monte. These banana empires are household names, and as a frequent consumer of bananas, I read Banana Capital: Stories, Science, and Poison at the Equator, by Montreal academic Ben Brisbois, with great interest. Frankly, though I’ve consumed a bunch of bananas in my lifetime, I’ve never peeled back their long and troubling story. Ben Brisbois has. Over about fifteen years, Brisbois—an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine of the Université de Montréal’s School of Public Health—researched, analyzed, and wrote about pesticides’ dangerous health effects on the often exploited workers at banana plantations and farms, with his PhD fieldwork centred in the self-proclaimed “banana capital of the world,” Machala, Ecuador. He ”laboriously designed a project that would try to bring about real change by valuing the lived experiences of pesticide-affected banana workers and farmers, and by being realistic about the political and economic power relations [both globally and locally] affecting coastal Ecuador.” There was much to unpack, and this reader got an education, beginning with the nefarious ecological and political history of…

Selected Writings: Six Years of Philosophyby Leighton D. PeartPublished by Pete’s PressReview by Toby A. Welch  $21.99 ISBN 9781069345967 I love little books like this. They are great to throw in your bag and pull out when you have a fewmoments. Or devour it in one sitting. Either way, it’s a win-win situation as Selected Writings is a thought-provoking read.  Selected Writings is sixty-eight pages long. It is made up of nine essays that Peart wrote over the last six years, although most were written in 2019 before his Covid writing slump hit. He is upfront that the essays are reflections and things for us to ponder, topics that we won’t necessarily agree with. I admire that as I don’t want to always hear opinions that align with mine. I want to read different viewpoints to expand my own mindset.  The nine essays deal with a variety of topics: growing up poor, this life being our only refuge, the highs and lows of existing, finding meaning and authenticity in a chaotic world, religion and morality, the decision to not have children, boredom, and metaphysical depths. It was interesting diving into Peart’s mind as he shared his views on topics that aren’t usually discussed in…