April 2021

Pluck: A Memoir of a Newfoundland Childhood

On April 23rd, the Knowlton Literary Festival hosted a webinar, with one of the grand dames of Canadian Literature, Donna Morrissey, discussing her upcoming memoir Pluck: A Memoir of a Newfoundland Childhood and the Raucous, Terrible, Amazing Journey to Becoming a Novelist. This event was sponsored by the Writers Union of Canada.

Pluck is scheduled to be released this fall. It is a deeply personal reflection of a woman who left her isolated Newfoundland community at age 16, eager to explore the world. Her path was difficult, from the death of a teenaged brother who followed her to Alberta’s oilfields, to mental illness, marriage, divorce and working in a fish processing plant to support her two young daughters. Ultimately Morrissey landed on her feet as one of Canada’s most prominent writers, having penned six national bestselling novels.

Many of Morrissey’s stories are drawn from her own varied life experiences, combining darkness and light, levity and sadness into her tale, as the indomitable spirit and humour that sustains her. An inspiring and insightful memoir, Pluck illustrates that even when you find yourself unravelling, you can find a way to spin the yarns that will save you--and delight readers everywhere. She writes about the small village where she was born called The Beaches (White Bay, Newfoundland) with a population of just twelve.

Morrissey has been spoken of in one of her reviews as “The Stone Angel” of the east coast, while The Globe and Mail refers to Morrissey as “… a Newfoundland Thomas Hardy.” She has received numerous awards for her work and was short listed for a Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for Sylvanus Now. Each of her six novels, which include The Fortunate Brother, The Deception of Livvy Higgs,What They Wanted, Sylvanus Now, and Downhill Chance have all been national best sellers. Morrissey has also written a film, Clothesline Patch (for which she was nominated for a Gemini Award), as well as a children's book, Cross, Katie Kross, illustrated by her daughter Bridgette Morrissey. 

If you were unable to attend Morrissey's webinar, or would like to hear this webinar again, click on the following link. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/CQy2gzOCIEI

And if you would like more information about this amazing author, and her books, visit her website at: https://donnamorrissey.org/writer/ .