Sweetness from Ashes

by Marlyn Horsdal

Set partially in Vancouver, partially on a farm in rural Ontario and partially in West Africa, Sweetness from Ashes is a novel about family in its various forms. When Sheila, Jenny and Chris decide to respect a deceased relative’s wishes, and return the ashes to the family farm, the three begin a journey that takes them from their present-day lives in Vancouver to a deeper discovery of their roots and the family’s past. In Ontario, they meet their cousins and start to reconcile with a buried history. Mixed into the story is a book that Jenny is editing, a memoir of an Englishman living in the colonial Gold Coast in the 1950s. The link goes beyond the manuscript and interweaves with the Ontario family farm, and the new generation of people who have come home.

Sweetness from Ashes is a vibrant novel with a voice and perspective that is contemporary but gives a nod to the past.

266 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 19, 2010

About the author

Marlyn Horsdal is an editor and writer. In 1984, she co-founded Horsdal & Schubart Publishers with her husband, Michael Schubart, and ran the company until it was sold in 2002. She was educated at Queen's University and the London School of Economics. Her first novel Sweetness from Ashes was named one of the Best Fiction Titles of 2010 by January Magazine. The Judge and the Lady is her second novel. Marlyn lives on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.