"Wild meets Priestdaddy in this humorous, affecting, keenly observed memoir about daring to go outside of what's comfortable--and being open and ready for all the possibilities. When Anna Maxymiw accepts a summer job as a housekeeper at a fishing lodge in Northern Ontario, she has little idea what to expect. As a child, she goes fishing with her father and brother in Toronto's High Park; as a teenager on a family fishing trip, following the death of her uncle, she finds herself indelibly altered by the thrill of bringing a pike to the surface. At 23, when she decides to leave behind her masters degree and city life, and board a floatplane bound for the remote boreal forest near James Bay, new challenges and unexpected joy await. For 67 days, Anna is one of a group of young women and men who will keep the lodge running. While the male dockhands and fishing guides head out on the water with the fishermen who are the lodge's guests, the women housekeep and serve. Against the backdrop of a vast lake; wild storms; and hot days and eerily still nights, friendships develop, and Anna encounters bears, bugs, and the lore surrounding the lake's legendary pike. As the summer progresses, and the ownership of the lodge changes hands, tensions build to a breaking point. Warm, funny, vulnerable, and wise, Anna Maxymiw gives us a singular perspective on an age-old impulse. She shows us what it's really like to let go of yourself, your insecurities and fears--all the things that hold us back--and move through a summer welcoming all the surprises and possibilities, both good and bad, with open arms and a willingness to be changed by them. An unforgettable memoir, Dirty Work is for anyone who's ever felt the urge to feel uncomfortable and wondered how they'd fare and who they'd be when they came out on the other side."--Provided by publisher.