In May, 2001, Chris Benjamin hitchhiked across Canada and volunteered on organic farms in British Columbia. He was in search of a good home, love and community, and perhaps a source of income to pay off his student loans.In Northern Ontario, Benjamin writes, “Big Al was my first encounter with what turned out to be a hitchhiking trope, the kind and generous – to his own kind at least – racist.” The trope got worse after September 11, which happened as Benjamin was leaving Prince Ru...

The daughter of an alcoholic desperate to be loved.

Eco-Innovators profiles some of the region's most innovative and forward-thinking leaders in sustainability. These entrepreneurs and educators, activists and agitators, farmers and fishers have all made measurable contributions both in their respective fields of interest and in motivating others to make change. In the book, we meet Kim Thompson, a strawbale builder and consultant, who has recently brought her building experience to a renovation of an older house in downtown Halifax. Then t...

There are guides to reaching physical fitness and those for reaching mental fitnessbut there are very few books intended to help you reach spiritual fitness. In Spiritual Basic Training, author Chris Benjamin does just that, offering a motivating spark to ignite righteous living for Gods glory. Benjamin provides a positive message full of the Holy Scriptures, so every thought comes from the Bible. New believers will find guidance on how to start building a spiritual relationship with God. ...

Demoralized by his job and dissatisfied with his life, Mark punches the clock with increasing indifference. He wanted to help people; he’d always believed that as social worker he would be able to make a difference in people’s lives. But after six years of bureaucracy and pushing paper Mark has lost hope.All that changes when he meets Bumi, an Indonesian restaurant worker. Moved from his small fishing village and sent to a residential school under the authoritarian Suharto regime, ...

The scandalous history of neglect, abuse, and exploitation at a residential school for children—and the ongoing effects in the decades since it closed.In Indian School Road, journalist Chris Benjamin tackles the controversial and tragic history of Canada's Shubenacadie Indian Residential School, its predecessors, and its lasting effects, giving voice to multiple perspectives for the first time. Benjamin integrates research, interviews, and testimonies to gu...

2022 National Jewish Book Award Finalist“Inspiring. Exhilarating. Astonishing. An epic tale of brotherhood, ingenuity, and survival.” —Heather Dune Macadam, International Bestselling author of 999: The Extraordinary Young Women of the First Official Jewish Transport to AuschwitzTold through meticulous interviews with his son, this is an extraordinary memoir of endurance, faith, and a unique skill that kept three brothers to...

In December 1936, Britain faced a constitutional crisis that was the gravest threat to the institution of the monarchy since the execution of Charles I. The ruling monarch, Edward VIII, wished to marry the American divorcée Wallis Simpson and crown her as his Queen. His actions scandalised the Establishment, who were desperate to avoid an international embarrassment at a time when war seemed imminent.An influential coalition formed against him, including the Prime Minister Stanley ...

I am afraid that I, Sherlock Holmes, must act as my own chronicler in this singular case, that of the Whitechapel murders of 1888. For the way in which the affair was dropped upon my doorstep left me with little choice as to the contrary. Not twelve months prior, the siren's call of quiet domesticity and married life had robbed me of Watson's assistance as both partner and recorder of my cases. Thus, when detective inspector Lestrade of Scotland Yard required a lead-any lead-I found myself...

"Focuses on three men from vastly different backgrounds and serves as a vehicle for exploring the rigors of the fur trade . . . lyrical and transcendent." — American Historical ReviewIn September 1823, three men met at Rainy Lake House, a Hudson's Bay Company trading post near the Boundary Waters. Dr. John McLoughlin, the proprietor of Rainy Lake House, was in charge of the borderlands west of Lake Superior, where he was tasked with opposing the petty trade...

A month-by-month account of what life was like for the everyday person just before the Black Plague wiped out most of Europe.1326 was one of the most dramatic years in English history. The queen of England, Isabella of France, invaded the country with an army of mercenaries to destroy her husband's powerful and detested lover, Hugh Despenser the Younger, and brought down her husband, King Edward II, in the process.It was also a year, however, when the major...

A novel of two Elizabeths, born hours apart into very different lives in London: "Clever and charming."—Katie FfordeLondon, 1926. Two baby girls are born just hours and miles apart. One you know as the Queen of England, but what of the other girl—the daughter of an undertaker named in her honor?Betsy Sunshine grows up surrounded by death in war-torn London, watching her community grieve for their loved ones while dealing with her own teenage troubles—namely...