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Dancing in Gumboots: Adventure, Love & Resilience: Women of the Comox Valley
After the extraordinary success of GUMBOOT GIRLS comes the sequel anthology, DANCING IN GUMBOOTS. Having relocated to Comox, Jane encountered a new group of women who travelled to the Comox Valley in the 1970s. Fascinated by their stories, Lou Allison and Jane Wilde return to their dynamic partnership to bring us an anthology that shines a light on these trailblazing women and their unique stories.
The 1970s was a time of intense cultural shifts for women all over North America. Freedom from traditional gender roles and expectations encouraged widespread relocation of young women seeking adventure and meaning, often migrating from urban to rural locations. The agricultural area of the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island offered a unique opportunity to these young women. DANCING IN GUMBOOTS collects the stories of thirty-two women who traveled from around North America to Vancouver Island, eventually settling in and around the Comox Valley. The young women who chose the agricultural Vancouver Island area to make their homes, showcase the personal challenges and struggles arising from such radical change.
The 1970s was a time of intense cultural shifts for women all over North America. Freedom from traditional gender roles and expectations encouraged widespread relocation of young women seeking adventure and meaning, often migrating from urban to rural locations. The agricultural area of the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island offered a unique opportunity to these young women. DANCING IN GUMBOOTS collects the stories of thirty-two women who traveled from around North America to Vancouver Island, eventually settling in and around the Comox Valley. The young women who chose the agricultural Vancouver Island area to make their homes, showcase the personal challenges and struggles arising from such radical change.
- GenresNonfiction
240 pages, Paperback
Published September 7, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 22, 2018
As with the first book in this series, Dancing in Gumboots has found me at the perfect time. In a time where I'm asking myself, "What do I want?", "What makes me happy", and ultimately "Who am I?", these brilliant collection of women remind me that I already know the answer.
It was a treat to get a glimpse into the lives of these trailblazing women. Each essay took me into the past, and standing next to them as they build their houses, heal off the land, and ultimately stand up for the daunting task of daring to be oneself in an era of budding feminist ideas.
The stories of these women reminded me that we all ultimately know what we want, and more importantly what we need. It's just not always the case that we go out and get it.
Today was a travel day between Yellowknife and Whitehorse, via Vancouver and it was serendipitous to spot it in the airport bookshop. I inhaled this book in one sitting, spending time in meadows and up mountains, instead of in my airline seat.
Thank you for more of these stories, and thank you for reminding me of how I once found so much of myself in these women of BC.
It was a treat to get a glimpse into the lives of these trailblazing women. Each essay took me into the past, and standing next to them as they build their houses, heal off the land, and ultimately stand up for the daunting task of daring to be oneself in an era of budding feminist ideas.
The stories of these women reminded me that we all ultimately know what we want, and more importantly what we need. It's just not always the case that we go out and get it.
Today was a travel day between Yellowknife and Whitehorse, via Vancouver and it was serendipitous to spot it in the airport bookshop. I inhaled this book in one sitting, spending time in meadows and up mountains, instead of in my airline seat.
Thank you for more of these stories, and thank you for reminding me of how I once found so much of myself in these women of BC.
December 28, 2018
Got to p 41; held while reading other books. Now must return to library because of wait list. Will have to re-request. I was familiar with the area & era at most of the time discussed. I have given it a provisional 4 vs 3 because it is documentation of the history of a coming of age during the Vietnam War, & the intertwining of the draft dodgers coming to mostly more rural/isolated parts of BC and the "back to the land" movement.
I want to read the previous book by the editor & author, documenting stories of central/northern BC.
I want to read the previous book by the editor & author, documenting stories of central/northern BC.
January 14, 2019
A fun and inspiring look at so-called hippie types who successfully settled in the Comox Valley.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews