This is a love story, but not a romance.
How do we define love? Perhaps it is, as our narrator suggests, not something we do or feel, but something we are.
The Story: As a beginning teacher in the mid 1980's, Anna accepts a replacement contract in a northern community. Her experiences there will change her life. We follow Anna until she comes full circle, to discover, at the end of things, the cost and nobility of love.
Background: There are people in my life who have touched me in my own teaching journey, and I have tried to honour their voices -- their joy and their pain. I do not pretend to speak for them or claim to know their pain. I only have glimpses and flashes of a feeling, but they see, face to face.
I just want to share the stories of Anna and Joshua, and explore the nature of love. Love of one another, love of creation, love of God: there is love at the end of all things.
Progress: The first draft is done, but there is much cutting, sanding, and polishing ahead.
- -- Anne March 8, 2022
Addressing the Pandemic:
Part of the story takes place now and a few years from now, so yes, there will be mention of pandemic. There will be mention of this pandemic, the pandemic of 1918, and perhaps a pandemic yet to come. Such are the times we live in. It is not, however, a moral tale about how to behave in pandemic times. I hope that in writing this, I have focused on love, loyalty, and redemption, which are important in all our moments.
--Anne April 4, 2022
The Story: As a beginning teacher in the mid 1980's, Anna accepts a replacement contract in a northern community. Her experiences there will change her life. We follow Anna until she comes full circle, to discover, at the end of things, the cost and nobility of love.
Background: There are people in my life who have touched me in my own teaching journey, and I have tried to honour their voices -- their joy and their pain. I do not pretend to speak for them or claim to know their pain. I only have glimpses and flashes of a feeling, but they see, face to face.
I just want to share the stories of Anna and Joshua, and explore the nature of love. Love of one another, love of creation, love of God: there is love at the end of all things.
Progress: The first draft is done, but there is much cutting, sanding, and polishing ahead.
- -- Anne March 8, 2022
Addressing the Pandemic:
Part of the story takes place now and a few years from now, so yes, there will be mention of pandemic. There will be mention of this pandemic, the pandemic of 1918, and perhaps a pandemic yet to come. Such are the times we live in. It is not, however, a moral tale about how to behave in pandemic times. I hope that in writing this, I have focused on love, loyalty, and redemption, which are important in all our moments.
--Anne April 4, 2022
Meet the Characters and Storytellers.... |
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These are some of the characters of the book, and some of them will help tell the story. This book is mainly about Anna, but it touches many lives. Anna's story is not a simple one, and it takes many people to put it together. There will be wonder and there will be sorrow, but here will always be hope. Mattie wanted a happy ending, so there will be one.
Anna - First teaching contract brings her into Joshua's world, and she will be seeking re-entry always.
-Characteristic: yearning
Terrence - A minister learning to dare beyond institutional confinement, but not all at once
-Characteristic: wonder
Mattie - A child of innocence, a child of anger, and ultimately our strongest narrator
-Characteristic: hope
Joshua - Carpenter and true man of the Land, Lives his life in strength
Characteristic: integrity
Leah - helpmeet and patient one, integrity and dignity define her
-Characteristic: honesty
Catherine - mother of Anna, longings of her own, life of loneliness
- Characteristic: endurance
Aaron - Joshua's son, quiet and tolerant
-Characteristic: respect
Sarah - strong in love, long in patience, knows her own mind
-Characteristic: loyalty
Miriam - the daughter of Joshua, watches over her own
-Characteristic: protectiveness
Tonya - student who rises above all challenges to find her way
-Characteristic: perseverance
Marta - student outraged by life, vision and passion for the future
-Characteristic: love
Anna - First teaching contract brings her into Joshua's world, and she will be seeking re-entry always.
-Characteristic: yearning
Terrence - A minister learning to dare beyond institutional confinement, but not all at once
-Characteristic: wonder
Mattie - A child of innocence, a child of anger, and ultimately our strongest narrator
-Characteristic: hope
Joshua - Carpenter and true man of the Land, Lives his life in strength
Characteristic: integrity
Leah - helpmeet and patient one, integrity and dignity define her
-Characteristic: honesty
Catherine - mother of Anna, longings of her own, life of loneliness
- Characteristic: endurance
Aaron - Joshua's son, quiet and tolerant
-Characteristic: respect
Sarah - strong in love, long in patience, knows her own mind
-Characteristic: loyalty
Miriam - the daughter of Joshua, watches over her own
-Characteristic: protectiveness
Tonya - student who rises above all challenges to find her way
-Characteristic: perseverance
Marta - student outraged by life, vision and passion for the future
-Characteristic: love
