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In this adventurous true story of one family's struggle to survive and thrive on a homestead in Northern Canada, a unique time and place come to life in Byra's deft turn as a storyteller. He introduces readers to his parents, Polish immigrants who settled the homestead as the Great Depression loomed. His hardworking parents established a way of life and carved out a place for the next generation to come of age. The land and the environment served as a master teacher, delivering hard lessons that were always laced with joy, discovery, and excitement. Byra details close encounters with moose, cattle drives, dangerous weather, and isolation. He also shares about bonds with neighbors, schoolhouse memories, and important traditions that fulfilled his childhood and adolescence as he came of age on the homestead. He recounts experiences that shaped his life and describes through vignettes what life was like growing up in the far north of Canada.
Plainspoken and vivid, Byra's voice is pleasant and brings to mind the sound of stories told around a campfire. Authentically detailed anecdotes abound in this memoir that seeks to keep a family's history alive through remembrance and sharing. These stories become a treasured inheritance passed onto the next generation while also offering valuable historical insight. The trials and triumphs of one family will captivate readers through these entertaining stories filled with forthright details that evoke a way of life tied to the land. As Byra works alongside his hardscrabble parents, he learns valuable lessons, gains courage, and carries forth his family's legacy.