About  Through Winds of Prairie Dust

Through Winds of Prairie Dust weaves together a heartbreaking and thrilling story of life in the Dust Bowl Depression in Canada. 

It's 1934, and the Depression has hit hard in small-town Saskatchewan, pushing Anders to leave his family to look for work in the city. Instead, he finds a Canada devoid of jobs and a world he didn't know existed, which pulls him into a sometimes dangerous trek across the country. 

In the years after Anders left home, Marit cared for their children through tough times. However, being on her own without a husband comes with its own challenges, especially with something like the Mental Hygiene Act looming over her shoulder and spiteful neighbours always watching.

The Story Behind The Story

Since childhood, I have been intrigued by the mystery surrounding my maternal grandparents. All I knew for certain was that my grandfather had disappeared after leaving home to search for work in the 1930s, and a few years later, my grandmother was committed to the notorious Weyburn Mental Hospital in Weyburn, SK.

After I retired from my career in special and academic libraries, I began researching the possibilities of what could have been my grandparents’ stories. The result is my debut novel, Through Winds of Prairie Dust.