Toronto discussion

This is an excellent read. by Canadian author Brian Francis chronicles a mother's acceptance of her late, gay, son through a series of flash backs through their lives brought back to her when a volunteer, Timothy, starts to visit her in her nursing home.

The writing style draws you into the story and the time frames easily. There are some bits of humour that really hit home for me as they perfectly describe people in my own life. I fully understand Joyce's reluctance to acknowledge her son's homosexuality in a small town in the 1980s. It is even more difficult for her to acknowledge that her son, John, died of AIDS and because of her controlling nature had been unwilling to share his adult life with her.

My own mother still struggles to use the word husband in reference to my partner when speaking with her friends at church in Woodstock, but both of my parents were willing participants in our adult lives. Based on the story my mother would only be a few years younger than the character in the novel.

Canadian society, even in the largest urban centres was not open to the 'gay lifestyle' at that time. It is a very changed world today. Unlike Joyce my parents were at least open to accepting and acknowledging myself and my husband within the family. I meet the author in February at a local book club meeting at the 519 Community Centre and was able to further discuss the novel with him. The names of the fictionalized towns were of interest to me as I believed that I knew which real towns they are modelled on and was able to confirm my suspicions.

I would easily recommend this to anyone, and I look forward to investigating other titles from Mr. Francis.

I had an opportunity to hear Hugh Brewster this evening at the Mature Men's Book Club Meeting at the 519 Community Centre. He was speaking to his book . He was able to give some additional insights into the passengers and their lives which were very informative.

I had the opportunity to meet and discuss with the author Jeffrey Luscombe last evening at the Matur Men's Book Club meeting at the 519 Community Centre. It was nice to hear just how much of his own life story is reflected in his novel.

ALP productions is looking to host an event for traditional and self published authors in Toronto! It's a great way to network, sell books, meet literary agents and get inspired by a line up of established authors! msg me if interested in further details :)