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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-03-04, Page 28• Page A28 - Goderich Signal -Star, Wednesday, March 4, 2009 entertainment Deadlines: Friday @ 3 p.m. Holiday Weekends Friday @ 10 a.m. Local author compares works to Anne of Green Gables Bryan Shypula sun media Author Bruce Woods says he drew on his "rather Tom Sawyer - like existence" growing up in Strat- ford for his first novel. The 287 -page book, "Between 'INvo Women," is a fond tribute to the city he grew up in during the Great Depression and the Second World War. But it also tells the sad story of a family breakup and his mother's struggle with mental ill- ness. The women he's between are his. mother, Ethel Gillatly, and grand- mother, Rachel Gillatly. He was the peacekeeper in their "war," he said. res 4.'m' :?rt''. <</ i% : ! "As I like to say, that's not without its advantages -- that's where I learned to write funny ... and lived to tellthe tale," said the retired Baptist minister, an occasional contributor to church magazines over the years. Growing up during the Second World War "was the best time in the world for a kid to be alive," Mr. Woods said. opposed to my rather Tom Sawyer- like awyerlike existence," he said. His grandmother, he said, bore the brunt of his mother's anger. "I was always defending my grandmother from my mother," he said. "What Anne of Green Gables does for P.E.I., 1 do for the city of Stratford," -- Bruce Woods It was also an era when divorce wasn't as com- mon nor as accepted as it is today. His mother's marriage to his father, Bruce Woods Sr., broke up around the time BUCK & DOL ADAM (Reegzy) REGIER & PAM WATTERS SAT. MARCH 14/09 8:00 - 1:00 SALTFORD VALLEY HALL 34031 Saitford St., Goderich, ON ST. PATRICK'S PARTY SLIANTL - CHEERS GO GREEN Lunch Provided, Dl • Rick Addy Free in town taxi provided Need Tickets - Call Mike Mabon 519-524-7942 Ken & Deb Kegler 519-524-4489 ti P/L rr. lir.: he was born when his father left for another woman. It sent his pretty mom -- some say she looked like movie star Janet Gaynor (winner of first Academy Award for Best Actress in 1928) -- into depression and eventually schizophre- nia and paranoia. "That's part of what I play on in the book, the contrast between her unhappiness as MCL., SounD mu. Dj sERV1cE Book youR RECEPTIONS, Buck & DOES EARIy! JAN McLeod Cli aoN dek 482-9984 At The Goderich Legion (Upstairs) Monday, March 16 Full Course Roast Beef Dinner 5:00 p.m. till 6:30 p.m. Only $12 Take -Out Available Tickets available at the Legion 519-524-9282 or call Norm @ 519-524-6973 Wheelchair accessible Everyone Welcome woofer - Mr. Woods said he believes the book has niche appeal to people who know Strat- ford, but there is also a wider au- dience because of its "timeless and universal" applications. The 76 -year-old Ancaster resi- dent, at the urging of his wife, de- cided to write down the stories he'd been telling his grandchildren. During a recent interview when he was in Stratford to drop off more books at local retailers, he said more than 1,000 copies of the $20 books have been purchased since it was published in September. He is already planning a sequel, which would pick up from the time his leaves Stratford shortly before turning 1.7. The confident author drew a comparison to Lucy Maud Mont- gomery, whose classic story "Anne of Green Gables" has been trans- lated into 15 different languages and put on film and is responsible for drawing about 350,000 visitors annually to Prince Edward Island. Mister Beer U -Brew Goderich Your premier Brew On Premise for quality micro -brewed beers, fine wines, wine kits to go and more 519.524.2337 34041 Saltford Road RR #4 Goderich, ON N7A 3Y1 LOTS OF LOVE DAD & GRANDPA! FROM YOUR FAMILY! g ' goderich www. .com "What Anne of Green Gables does for P.E.I., I do for the city of Stratford," he said. "There's lots of little memorable stuff about Stratford in this book," he said. BE'IitEEN TWO WOMLN BY BRUCE At WOODS • FY: Image used with appreciation' Author Buce Wood's "Between Two Women' is a tale of his growing up in Southwestern Ontario during the Great Depression and the Second World War. While most of the book focuses on Stratford, the author explained to The Signal -Star that there are several sections dealing with areas in and around Huron County. Servr/ ight hosted by Goderich Skating Club at Pizzas Boston 'eta 144 otigft4n7 frit4:41.404.)'w Monday - March 9th, 6pm-8pm Come out and support your local skaters!!! A'to the GoderiP sskatito ng dub. SKATING CLU9