C is for crush. candy. corpse.

Yesterday, I blogged about the book launch of crush. candy. corpse. by Sylvia McNicoll, who has written 30 books and birthed three fabulous children (including yours truly).  Since today is C-day in the blogging challenge and Mom's book title is so laden with C-words, I will now delight my faithful readers with an unbiased review of the novel.

The book is narrated by Sonja Ehret (Sunny), a teenager who volunteers in the Alzheimer's ward at a senior's home and ends up on trial for manslaughter. Each chapter begins in the courtroom and then flashes back to Sunny's school volunteer journal as the events unfold.

While I always enjoy my Mom's writing, there are books that stand out from the others, times when Mom just nails it and tells a story that is so real, and says so much.  This is one of those books and this is one of those times.  My mother's greatest strength is in creating memorable characters, who you can see when you read them. Every nurse, senior, teen, even the most minor of personages has a face and a voice, particularly the Alzheimer's patients.

Those of you who know me, and have read this blog, know that my grandmother recently died of Alzheimer's. Over the last few years, Mom spent a great deal of time in Omi's care facility, feeding her yogurt and watching her slip away bit by bit. There is so much of my grandmother's journey in crush. candy. corpse.   The book is dedicated to Omi and the story is so personal that Mom named the main character after herself.  Ehret is my mother's maiden name and Sonja was a name my grandparents almost chose before settling on Sylvia. This is a story from the heart, one that needed to be told, and it's beautiful. 

B is for Book Launch

Yesterday I attended the book launch of my favourite author and inspiration.  Of course I'm talking about my mother, Sylvia McNicoll. Crush. Candy. Corpse. is Mom's 30th book, so it's a big deal.  The event was held at A Different Drummer Books, a cozy independent bookstore that I fondly remember frequenting as a child. During today's visit, however, I saw no sign of the temperamental cat who lived there back in the day.

The turn out was perfect, enough people that the place felt full, but not so many that it was hard to move around. Also Mom baked cookies and squares.  She is multi-talented.  My kids spent most of the time upstairs in the children's department, with some of their friends who came to show their support.  Jadzia descended periodically to sneak a cookie, and William saw enough of my Mom's talk to proclaim loudly that it was boring.  I disagree. Mom spoke confidently, her jokes perfectly timed, and the sections she read really captured  the flavour of the book.

But you don't have to take my word for it. I filmed the whole thing.  If you watch the video below, you can feel like you were there! (minus the squares and cookies, unfortunately).

A to Z Challenge

I've just decided that in the month of April I'm going to participate in the A to Z challenge, where I create a blog post for every letter of the alphabet during the month of April. That's every day except Sundays (and since April 1st is a Sunday, I have to blog that day too).  Unlike my highly organized friend Siobhan Minty, I have not planned out what I am going to say, so the topics will be totally random.

April 1st is also the launch of Crush. Candy. Corpse., the latest book written by my highly-talented mother, Sylvia McNicoll.  If you live in or near Burlington, come down to A Different Drummer Books between 2 and 4 pm, and purchase a signed copy.  Here's the official invite: