About Through Winds of Prairie Dust
"You can decide who you want to be.
Make your own story.”
"You can decide who you want to be.
Make your own story.”
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.