Many Canadians like myself remember Silken Laumann’s amazing perseverance after a severe leg injury, to win a bronze medal only 10 weeks later at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. Even without the gold, she was one of the hero stories of the game, and certainly an important one for Canada. One day, I happened across an interview to hear her talking about her memoir, Unsinkable. She sounded quite passionate and open about her life, so I looked forward to reading it. After a long wait […]
Bleak and more Bleak
One of the reasons I won’t hit my goal of books this year is the collection of short stories: Dear Life by Alice Munro which I read six months ago. The writing is terrific, and yet, the stark reality of these stories put me in a funk. Most of us live insignificant lives, the small details, the dramas, don’t add up to much in the end. Munro’s characters don’t learn lessons, their stories simply reminding us how small life is. Leaving Maverly is set in […]
Everyday Miracles: Bloodletting and Other Miraculous Cures
Vincent Lam