Posted by A Memoir
On Loon Island, a granite mound in a pristine lake near Frontenac Provincial Park in the Ontario Canadian Shield, post-war summer days for Patti and her siblings overflowed with swimming, fishing and hunting for snapping turtles. Life seemed perfect until a shocking letter from the Department of Lands and Forests questioned their ownership of the land.
Grounded by Granite transports you to a time when cottage life spelled simplicity. A time of scary campfires and harmonized voices drifting over the surface of a moonlit lake. An era where families played Snakes and Ladders by the light of coal oil lamps and kids read comics under the covers by flashlight. Experience the ancestral traditions of a quirky yet lovable cast of extended family members at a lake where summers seemed to last forever.
From the award-winning author of Nepal One Day at a Time, a haunting, and at times comical, memoir of close family bonds and wilderness experiences that produced a solo adventure traveller and global humanitarian.
Author Biography
Patti Shales Lefkos is former teacher, principal and advocate for inner city children and best-selling author of Nepal One Day at a Time, One Woman’s Quest to Teach, Trek and Build a School in the Remote Himalaya. She is a full-time journalist, author and adventure traveller. Her articles have appeared in The Globe and Mail, The San Francisco Chronicle, Maclean’s, Travelife.ca, Canadian Living, Okanagan Life and Okanagan Woman magazines. She was recently awarded Best Travel Article of the Year in Postscript Magazine. When not travelling or writing, Patti loves to ski and snowshoe at her winter home at SilverStar Mountain Resort in British Columbia. In summer she reunites with her extended inter-generational family at her Ontario cottage where she rows, paddles and swims, renewing resilience at her granite island homeland. Profits from the sale of Patti’s books support education in rural Nepal. Visit her at www.pattishaleslefkos.com.
Praise
Praise for Grounded by Granite: (one more to come!!!)
“The sense of place and family is spot on. She brings cottage life in the ‘50s to life and deftly handles generational change in the 2020s with compassion and humour. “Grounded by Granite is a delight. It’s perfect for the cottage bookshelf. “
Roy MacGregor – Author of The Great Escape
What a pleasure to share in off the grid cottage life adventures and the strength of family in a time that now feels just out of reach. The title says it all: a family as grounded and resilient as the Canadian Shield itself.
Bob Henderson – Author of Every Trail Has a story, Outdoor Educator
Grounded by Granite is a testament to the power of place to instil lasting connections to oneself, to others, and to nature. Through her stories and reflections, Patti reminds us what is truly important at a time when we are increasingly disconnected from ourselves, from others and from nature. I loved this book.
Sarah Wiley– Strategic Projects Manager OUTWARD BOUND INTERNATIONAL
5.5 x 8.5 – 260 pages – $24.95
Shipping $6.99
GST $1.60
Total $33.54
Another of Patti’s great books – Nepal One Day at a Time