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Profiles of ten outstanding women leaders, including Suzanne Rochon-Burnett, a Métis broadcaster, journalist and First Nations advocate, winner of the Governor General’s Award for her work on Native Women’s rights; Susan Aglukark, Inuit singer and songwriter; and Emily Pauline Johnson—Canada’s first published First Nations poet. All of these trailblazing women are role models who have raised the profile of indigenous culture in North America.

When Tamara Levine received her breast cancer diagnosis, in a state of shock, she decided to inform her friends and colleagues by writing to them. That letter was the first of thirteen communications she calls her healing journey. As well as sharing the letters, Tamara tells us what she learned maneuvering through the black hole of cancer treatment. Tamara discusses vulnerabilities and fears, the impact of both financial and personal supports, the need to make choices, and the necessity for advocacy.

The true story of the ship St. Louis, which left Germany in May 1939 full of Jewish passengers seeking refuge in Cuba. Denied port in Cuba, the US, and finally Canada, the St. Louis was forced to return Europe, where many passengers later died in the Holocaust. Through the eyes of two children, Sol and Lisa, both of whom survived the war and shared their experiences, we see as their journey begins with excitement and hope, only to end in frustration and fear.

Boomer women are passing yet another milestone — RETIREMENT! The first wave of women to enter the workforce in significant numbers benefited from the feminist revolution and fought for a place in the world of work. Now these women are leading the rush for the exits. As they retire, they’re wondering what was gained, what was lost, and what comes next. They’re stepping out into trackless territory. This is the book that will show them that retirement is not the end of a productive life.

Rachel Fletcher is eleven years old when she, her mother and sister are crammed on board the Exodus, a dilapidated vessel smuggling 4500 Jewish refugees risking their lives to reach Palestine, their biblical homeland. Despite all they had suffered during the Holocaust, Jewish refugees are still not wanted in many countries. Even a Canadian immigration officer famously said at the time “None is too many” when asked how many refugees Canada would take in. Nonetheless, Rachel and the other refugees refuse to give up hope when war ships surround them.

The story of the Reesers, a Jewish family who emigrated to Canada from Czechoslovakia on the eve of WWII. They fled the Nazis and left behind four valuable oil paintings. It would take years for the Reeser family, led by matriarch Mari Reeser, and then her son Karl, to retrieve them. Along the way they had help from two unlikely sources - a mid-level diplomat at the Canadian embassy in Prague, and a daring Dutch-Canadian art smuggler.

In a riveting expose, former teacher June Larkin details how girls are harassed by males in schools. Based on first-hand interviews with teenage girls, she paints a frightening picture of how sexual harassment is a part of daily high school life.

Sportswriters and broadcasters in this country agree that Bobbie Rosenfeld may be Canada's greatest female athlete of the twentieth century. A Sports Hall of Famer, Bobbie was born in 1904 in a small Russian town and came to Canada with her immigrant parents when she was less than a month old. Her love for all sports showed itself early. As a young girl she excelled in track and field, ice hockey, tennis, basketball and softball. At the 1928 Summer Olympics, held in Amsterdam, she won both gold and silver medals.

From Rachel Carson, the woman who started the modern environmental movement, to Severn Cullis-Suzuki, former host of Suzuki’s Nature Quest, to Marina Silva, who fights to keep the Brazilian rain forest from disappearing, read about these ten amazing women who prove how ordinary people can do extraordinary things. While the threat of environmental crises becomes more dominant in the media and popular culture, these trailblazing women have taken action to make a vital difference for our planet.

Ten short and engaging biographies of First Nations/Native writers complete with photographs, sidebars, and a complete catalog of their work. These writers draw on their cultural history to create novels, poetry, and plays, and are an inspiration to any aspiring writer or avid reader. Includes Sherman Alexie, Louise Erdrich, Joseph Boyden, N. Scott Momaday, Marilyn Dumont, Tomson Highway, Joseph Bruchac, Maria Campbell, Nicola Campbell, and Tim Tingle.