National Network for Equitable Library Service

Catherine Slaney grew into womanhood unaware of her celebrated Black ancestors. An unanticipated meeting was to change her life. Her great-grandfather was Dr. Anderson Abbott, the first Canadian-born Black to graduate from medical school in Toronto in 1861. In Family Secrets Catherine Slaney narrates her journey along the trail of her family tree, back through the era of slavery and the plight of fugitive slaves, the Civil War, the Elgin settlement near Chatham, Ontario, and the Chicago years. Why did some of her family identify with the Black Community while others did not?

In this investigation of the life and varied careers of True Davidson, Eleanor Darke seeks to discover what can be "truly said about True" – a fascinating and contradictory woman who was always ahead of her time. "There was no quitter in her make-up and she fought like a banshee for whatever she believed in – which was people, truth, Canada. People either loved her or loathed her. None was indifferent. All her life True Davidson stood for human values. And traditions. Her courage and integrity knew no limit.

In 1889, Broken Shackles was published in Toronto under the pseudonym of Glenelg. This very unique book, containing the recollections of a resident of Owen Sound, Ontario, an African American known as Old Man Henson, was one of the very few books that documented the journey to Canada from the perspective of a person of African descent. Now, over 112 years later, a new edition of Broken Shackles is available. Henson was a great storyteller and the spark of life shines through as he describes the horrors of slavery and his goal of escaping its tenacious hold.

William Humber’s Bowmanville: A Small Town at the Edge is an extraordinarily detailed, often affectionate and occasionally critical account of a modern small town on the edge of a rapidly expanding metropolitan region. The book recounts stories from the time of Charles Bowman, the potential ambition of railroads from Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay, the legacy of grand pianos found in every corner of the world and the fateful decision of a rural businessman which gave General Motors to another community.

Bon Echo: The Denison Years documents the era when famous artists, intellectuals and theatrical personalities visited the strikingly beautiful Lake Mazinaw area in Ontario’s rugged Land O’ Lakes district, to both play and work. From the construction of Bon Echo Inn by American Dr. Weston Price to the creation of today’s Bon Echo Provincial Park, the author has been privy to the "inside" story.The struggles and ideals of the early Toronto feminist Flora MacDonald Denison and her author-playwright son, Merrill, are well recorded in this important book.

In 1842 at York Factory, the English-born missionary James Evans built a lightweight tin canoe that glittered and shone in the sunlight. Wherever he went, Native peoples called the canoe his "Shining Island" or "His Island of Light."Travels in the Shining Island chronicles important events in the life of the extraordinary Methodist missionary, James Evans (1801-1846). It was Evans who created a written alphabet in native languages that remains in use to the present time.

Set at the turn of the twentieth century and spread across the enormous canvas of Russia itself, Another Winter, Another Spring is a tale of love and loyalty tested against great hardship and suffering.

During World War II, thousands of Canadians left our country to fight for our Allies. Where they went and what they did has always been a question for some. Perhaps this book will give some answers. It deals with the experiences of an ordinary airman, a radio telephone operator, one of the many "ordinary people" who served their country in time of war. Ernest Monnon was a keen amateur photographer, who used to exchange his cigarettes for film and developing, and many of the pictures in the book are his.

Often seen as a magical paradise at the end of the world, Bhutan is inaccessible to most travellers. Set against the dramatic scenery of the Himalaya, this beguiling memoir recalls hardships and happiness in a land almost untouched by the West. When Britta Das goes to work as a physiotherapist in a remote village hospital, her good intentions are put to the test amid monsoons, fleas, and startling conditions. But as she visits homes in the mountains and learns the mysteries of Tantric Buddhism, the country captivates her very soul.

This book pays tribute to 14 women who donated millions of dollars to causes close to their hearts. Iris Nowell is the author of five books. Writing her 1996 book, Women Who Give Away Millions, has given her a solid foundation of philanthropy, the not-for-profit sector, and the wealthy. She has also written a memoir of Canadian artist Harold Town, and a biography of artist, filmmaker, and impassioned feminist, Joyce Wieland.