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Pluck : a memoir of a Newfoundland childhood and the raucous, terrible, amazing journey to becoming a novelist / by Morrissey, Donna,1956-author.;
"A deeply personal account of love's restorative ability as it leads renowned novelist Donna Morrissey through mental illness, family death, and despair to becoming a writer--told with charm and inimitable humour. When Donna Morrissey left the only home she had ever known, an isolated Newfoundland settlement, at age 16, she was ready for adventure. She had grown up without television or telephones but had absorbed the tragic stories and comic yarns of her close-knit family and community. The death of her infant brother marked the family, and years later, Morrissey suffers devastating guilt about the accidental death of her teenage brother, whom she'd enticed to join her in the oilfields. Her misery was compounded by her own misdiagnosis of a terminal illness, all of which contributed to crippling anxiety and an actual diagnosis of PTSD. Many of those events and themes would eventually be transformed and recast as fictional gold in Morrissey's novels. In another writer's hands, Morrissey's account of her personal story could easily be a tragedy. Instead, she combines darkness and light, levity and sadness into her tale, as her indomitable spirit and humour sustain her. Morrissey's path takes her from the drudgery of being a grocery clerk (who occasionally enlivens her shift with recreational drugs) to western oilfields, to marriage and divorce and working in a fish-processing plant to support herself and her two young children. Throughout her struggles, she nourishes a love of learning and language. Morrissey layers her account of her life with stories of those who came before her, a breed rarely seen in the modern world. It centers around iron-willed women: mothers and daughters, wives, sisters, teachers and mentors who find the support, the wind for their wings, outside the bounds given to them by nature. And it is a mysterious older woman she meets in Halifax who eventually unleashes the writer that Morrissey is destined to become. An inspiring and insightful memoir, Pluck illustrates that even when you find yourself unravelling, you can find a way to spin the yarns that will save you--and delight readers everywhere."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Autobiographies.; Morrissey, Donna, 1956-; Anxiety disorders; Brothers; Novelists, Canadian (English);
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Scenic driving Atlantic Canada : exploring the most spectacular back roads of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador / by Ernst, Chloë,author.;
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Subjects: Guidebooks.; Automobile travel; Scenic byways;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Rage the night : a novel / by Morrissey, Donna,1956-author.;
Includes bibliographical references.'Rage the Night' is at once the intimate tale of one man's quest to discover the truth of his birth and a riveting account of a real-life Newfoundland tragedy from 1914, brilliantly and sensitively imagined by one of Canada's most beloved and bestselling authors. Donna Morrissey lives in Halifax, NS.
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Novels.; Disasters; Identity (Psychology); Interpersonal relations; Sealing; Secrecy; Survival;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Free days with George : learning life's little lessons from one very big dog / by Campbell, Colin,1962-author.;
Subjects: George (Newfoundland dog); Campbell, Colin, 1962-; Human-animal relationships.; Marketing executives; Marketing executives; Surfers;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Sisters of Belfast : a novel / by Maure, Melanie,author.;
"Orphaned during the Second World War, Aelish and Isabel McGuire--known as the twins of Belfast--are given over to the austere care of the Sisters of Bethlehem. Though they are each all the other has, the girls are propelled in opposite directions as they grow up. Rebellious Isabel turns her back on the church and Ireland, traveling to Newfoundland where she pursues a perilous yet independent life. Devout Aelish chooses to remain in Northern Ireland and takes the veil, burying painful truths beneath years of silence. For decades the two are separated, each unaware of the other's life. But after years of isolation Aelish is unexpectedly summoned to Newfoundland, where she and her estranged sister begin to bridge the chasm between them. Reunion brings to light the painful secrets and seismic deceptions that have kept these sisters apart, leaving the McGuire twins to begin reconstructing their understanding about themselves as women and as family--what they know of love, hope, and above all, forgiveness."--
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Domestic fiction.; Novels.; Faith; Family secrets; Orphans; Self-realization in women; Sisters; Twins;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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An embarrassment of Critch's : immature stories from my grown-up life / by Critch, Mark,author.;
Includes bibliographical references.'An Embarrassment of Critch's' is the heartfelt and hilarious story of beloved Canadian comedian Mark Critchs journey from Newfoundland to the national stage - and back home again. Critch lives in St. John's, NL. From the author of 'Son of a Critch'.
Subjects: Biographies.; Critch, Mark.; Comedians; Motion picture actors and actresses; Television actors and actresses;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Invisible prisons : Jack Whalen's tireless fight for justice / by Moore, Lisa,1964-author.; Whalen, Jack(Jack William),author.;
"Riveting nonfiction from multi-award-winning author Lisa Moore, based on the shocking true story of a teenaged boy who endured abuse and solitary confinement at a reform school in Newfoundland, but survived through grit and redemptive love. An exposé in the vein of Unholy Orders, written in the style of Linden MacIntyre's In the Wake. Invisible Prisons is an extraordinary, empathetic collaboration between the magnificent writer Lisa Moore, best-known for her award-winning fiction, and a man named Jack Whalen, who as a child was held for four years at a reform school for boys in St John's, where he suffered jaw-dropping abuses and deprivations. Despite the odds stacked against him, he found love on the other side, and managed to turn his life around as a husband and father. His daughter, Brittany, vowed at a young age to become a lawyer so that she could seek justice for him. Today, that is exactly what she is doing -- and Jack's case forms part of a class action lawsuit currently before the courts. The story has obvious parallels with Unholy Orders by Michael Harris about the Mount Cashel orphanage, and the series "The Boys of St Vincent," as well as the film Spotlight, and the many horrific stories coming out about residential schools -- all of which expose a paternalistic state causing harm and looking away. Yet two powerful qualities set this story apart. As much as it is about an abusive system preying on children, it is also a tender tale of love between Jack and his wife Glennis, who saw the good man inside a damaged person and believed in him. And it is written in a novelistic way by the great Lisa Moore, who makes starkly and magically real every moment and character in these pages."--
Subjects: Biographies.; Whalen, Jack (Jack William); Whalen, Jack (Jack William); Whalen, Jack (Jack William); Adult child abuse victims; Students;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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The agony of Bun O'Keefe / by Smith, Heather,1968-;
Fourteen-year-old Bun O'Keefe has lived a solitary life with her mother, a compulsive hoarder, and had little contact with the outside world. Bun and her mother rarely talk, so when Bun's mother tells Bun to leave one day, she does. Hitchhiking out of town, Bun ends up on the streets of St. John's, Newfoundland, where she meets Busker Boy, a street musician who takes her in. Together they live in a house with an eclectic cast of characters, and Bun gets to learn the world beyond the walls of her mother's house.LSC
Subjects: Historical fiction.; Teenage girls; Street youth; Street musicians; Friendship; Dysfunctional families; Mothers and daughters;
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Goodnight, Canada / by Beck, Andrea,1956-;
A child living in Newfoundland bids goodnight to children of Canada, province by province, territory by territory. LSC
Subjects: Stories in rhyme.; Night;
© c2012., Scholastic Canada,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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Eastern Canada [videorecording]. by D'Amato, Zoe.; Pilot Film and Television Productions.;
Zoe D'Amato.Join Nova Scotia native Zoe D'Amato as she journeys across Eastern Canada. Starting at Cape Spear, the eastern most point of North America, Zoe ventures to St. John s, the capital of Newfoundland and Labrador. She then travels to Halifax, Nova Scotia and checks out a haunted restaurant before heading north to Cape Breton Island and trekking one of its many walking trails. On Prince Edward Island, Zoe learns about the local passion for Harness Racing , before heading across the 8-mile Confederation Bridge to New Brunswick for some kayaking and lobster fishing. In Quebec she catches the New France Festival, visits a First Nation reserve and takes part in rehearsals by Cirque de Soleil. She then travels to Toronto, Ontario where she walks on the outside of the CN Tower before finishing her journey at the majestic Niagara Falls.E.DVD; all regions; NTSC.
Subjects: Travelogues (Television programs);
© c2013., Pilot Film & Television Productions,
Available copies: 1 / Total copies: 1
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