Featuring Lisette Meuse-Manuel, Karen Kelloway, and John P. Portelli
Why do your favourite Canadian authors write the books they write? Let’s find out in this exclusive feature here at The Miramichi Reader.
Lisette Meuse-Manuel, author of Prepare To Pause: A wellness guide for women (Self-published, May 2023)
As a middle-aged woman who works daily with women of the same age group, I saw a lack of knowledge and awareness and also a thirst for information about the changes brought on by aging and hormonal shifts. This is a bit of a taboo subject that no one wants to talk about and because of that, most women are ill-prepared for the complex physical and emotional changes that come with Menopause. Most health practitioners don’t care to discuss it, don’t have the time during a 10-minute appointment or have very outdated information. This leaves a gap for quite a large group of women. By the year 2025, there will be over 1 billion women going through menopause. I also own and operate a skin care clinic. The questions and conversations that ensue during my treatments and consultations lead me to start taking notes to prepare a short pamphlet to give out to my clients. Many notes later, there were simply too many words and chapters started forming. I had no intention of writing a book, it just happened. I talk about my menopause journey in this book and I found writing quite therapeutic.
I decided to name the book Prepare To Pause so that women of a certain age group can get informed about preparing for Menopause. It covers health and beauty subjects such as nutrition, skincare, make-up, sleep and hot flashes. Women of any age can benefit from reading this book and men can learn about what their partners are experiencing. It is an easy read with a dash of humour but covers pertinent information. Each chapter has a recap with bullet points for easy review and remembering. I am not a medical doctor, therefore the information in my book is not meant to replace medical advice but rather to inform and educate.
Lisette Meuse-Manuel has been practicing in the wellness and beauty industry for over 35 years. She has studied in medical esthetics, cosmetic chemistry as well as nutrition and health science. Born and raised in the small community of Baie Ste-Anne, close to Miramichi, she now resides in Moncton, NB.
Karen Kelloway, Author of Keepers of the Pact (Nimbus Publishing, July 21, 2023)
Dedication: “To the Water Keepers—past and present, Elders and youth—who protect the water and uphold the traditional laws that govern its use.”
Set in Brigus, Newfoundland & Labrador, Keepers of the Pact follows Alistair and his two friends, Ben and Sadie, who find themselves caught up in a centuries-old secret. For generations, the Pact of Protection has held, and now everything the townspeople have dedicated their lives to guarding could crumble to pieces.
The idea for Keepers of the Pact came out of a visit to the historic town of Brigus, NL. I was immediately taken by its beauty, its rolling landscape and of course, the tunnel!
Three anchors influenced my story. First, the tunnel ¾ a 30-meter pathway blasted through solid rock in the late 1800s so that vessels could more easily unload their cargo. Second, a reported mermaid sighting in the St. John’s harbour in 1610. (I know!) And third, the fabled stories of Peter Easton’s pirating activities along the NL coast around 1612. The timelines are, of course, blurred, to bring readers this modern-day tale of friendship, adventure and the deepest mysteries of the sea.
As part of my research, I reached out to Elder Gloria Johnson, an English and Native Studies teacher at Sydney Academy, Nova Scotia, and a direct descendant of Grand Chief Membertou. After reading the manuscript in its entirety she said that the story brought back beautiful memories of the merpeople or halfpeople (Sabawaelnu) that were told to her by her Ami. She then helped me integrate more authentic indigenous components into the story – which we also had to balance and intertwine with traditional merfolk lore. It was a fascinating and satisfying process!
Along with writing fiction, Karen Kelloway is the Founder/CEO of the Career Story Project. She works with organizations, executives, and entrepreneurs to create a rewarding career path and believes in the power of storytelling to learn life lessons. Karen lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, with her husband, two teenagers, and their fluffy black-and-white Havanese, Chewie. Keepers of the Pact is on the Approved List of Resources for Nova Scotia schools. Watch her 60-second book trailer and check out her page for Educators at karenkelloway.com.
Keepers of the Pact is available through booksellers everywhere.
John P. Portelli, author of Here Was (Word & Deed Publishing Inc. Aug. 7 2023)
Here Was is a collection of 77 poems by a Maltese-Canadian author, translated from the original in Maltese. The collection, divided into five sections, is a selection from Portelli’s earlier collections as well as some new poems.
I published this collection to offer a representation in English of my work from 2001 till the present. Although I have published 11 academic books in English, for political reasons, most of my literary work is written in Maltese (although five of my collections are bilingual).
The selection was made to exemplify some of the major themes in my poetry: concern for social justice and equity; migration, belonging and identity/ies; existential encounters in travelling; nostalgia for the homeland.
Notwithstanding the variety of themes, the concern for social justice and equity is something that runs throughout the entire collection whether it is a concern about racism in Canada or in Malta, the plight of the Palestinian people, the rights of children and minorities, or the abuse of the environment by politicians. As such, the first section consists of poems written during my two-time visit to the West Bank and Israel. The title of the book is also the title of a poem in this section. The book is dedicated to six Palestinian intellectuals and friends.
As someone who was brought up in a small village in Malta and emigrated to Canada at the age of 23, almost inevitably, the theme of migration, displacement, belonging or lack of it, and identity/ies, is central in my work. It is also an aspect that appears in my poetry written while travelling in several European countries, the Maghreb, and the Middle East.
Finally, I have to say a word about the sea which appears in many of my poems. I have a fascination for the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of who I am!
Here Was has been translated and published into Romanian (Rocart Publishers), and soon also be available in Arabic (Dar Fardous in Tunisia), Italian (Albatros Publishers), and in Farsi (Ashk Publishers).
