Short memoirs from 36 of Powell River’s senior community will be featured in a soon-to-be-released book, Slices: A Memoir Anthology, published by the Powell River Public Library and funded by the Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program.
While the authors featured in the anthology live in Powell River, their stories take the reader to a stunning and surprisingly diverse range of times and places—as far away as England, Burma, and Africa, to an ice rink in Toronto, airport security in Calgary and Canada’s Yukon on a frozen day. Readers will travel as far back as the Second World War and to events from just few years ago. And of course, some stories are from Powell River’s history, such as lessons from a Brooks high school biology class, a pet seagull at the Ragged Islands and drama in a Texada Island hotel.
The publication’s title, Slices, describes the type of memoir writing the authors do—not the whole, chronological recording of life, but instead the capturing and crafting of slices of life. Each of the authors is a graduate of the library’s popular, seven-week Memoir Writing for Seniors courses, and in addition have committed to the monthly memoir workshops also sponsored by the library.
“When I began writing my memoirs in the free course offered by the library, I thought I was writing for my children and grandchildren, says author Marlaine Taylor. Months down the road, my purpose has evolved. Now I write for the joy of exploring the journey through my memories and I hope those who read the book will see that there are common human experiences and find comfort in that.”
The library and the authors are looking forward to their book launch, set for 2 to 4 pm on Saturday, November 2 at the Cranberry Seniors Centre.
