Pivot Point

by Bren Simmers

Bren Simmers’s Pivot Point is a lyrical account of a nine-day wilderness canoe trip through the Bowron Lakes canoe circuit in British Columbia. At the heart of the expedition are three young women, friends whose lives seem at risk of drifting apart as they approach middle age. While buoyed by the pleasures of adventure and camaraderie, and by a deep reverence for nature, Simmers finds herself struggling to inhabit the trip’s trickier elements—storms, insects, physical fatigue, conflict, doubt, and disorientation—and, as with the challenges and changes in her own life, to embrace them with confidence. Recounted in a journal-entry style with poems interleaving each day’s narrative, Pivot Point is a frank reflection on the roles friendship, mindfulness, and creativity play in the evolution of our lives.

Genres: Nonfiction

112 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2019

About the author

Bren Simmers’ first book of non-fiction, Pivot Point (Gaspereau Press, 2019), is a lyrical account of a nine-day wilderness canoe journey and a frank reflection on the roles friendship, mindfulness, and creativity play in the evolution of our lives. She is also the author of three books of poetry: If, When (Gaspereau Press, 2021), Hastings-Sunrise (Nightwood Editions, 2015), which was a finalist for the City of Vancouver Book Award, and Night Gears (Wolsak & Wynn, 2010). A lifelong west coaster, she now lives on PEI.

Reviews

[Lisa Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this book quickly because it's short and sweet. It was a perfect book to kick off a season of digital minimalism. A story about wilderness and self reflection. I loved the poetic prose, loved how it was like a journal I myself would write. I loved the drawings and the thick pages. Nature writing is such a gift.

[Neesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short little book of author's reflections on life, friendship, her own character, adult life, wildlife and everything in between while on a canoe trip with friends and their partners.
I had surprisingly a lot in common with her so it felt very personal.