TORONTO —
As we all try to cautiously move into the next phase of this pandemic, two authors have bound a series of tales to remind us how Canadians came together during the darkest phase.
Author Heather Down has never put together a book so quickly.
It took her and co-author Catherine Kenwell just a little more than seven weeks to assemble the stories behind uniquely uplifting Canadian moments during the pandemic.
From the tale of Robbie Griffiths, the father from Paradise, N.L., who dressed up like Spider-Man so kids could have something positive in their day, to Mary Janet MacDonald, the woman in Port Hood, N.S., whose recipe for cinnamon rolls spread all over the internet.
“There’s stories from every single province,” Down told CTV News.
She wanted to highlight the fact that unlike most things in a lockdown, kindness was not cancelled — a sentiment which became the title of the book.
“Not Cancelled: Canadian Caremongering in the Face of COVID-19” is a reminder that a lot of positive things happened during lockdown.
“You can’t cancel laughter, you can’t cancel love,” she said. “You can’t cancel kindness, you cannot cancel baking!”
MacDonald, who shared her knack for cinnamon rolls in a Facebook Live video after her daughter suggested it, told CTV News Atlantic in April that she was happy to be able to spread joy with her skills.
“I’ve had so many families cooking together and saying this reminds me of my grandma. It’s just really nice to know they’re cooking together and having fun,” she said.
One of the stories in “Not Cancelled” centres on the marriage of a couple in B.C. They may have had to shift their celebrations to a living room, but the ceremony was far from lonely. Friends showed up in their cars outside, with everyone tuned into the same radio station, so the bride and groom could have their first dance in the middle of the street.
There’s also a section in the book on the initiative born in Barrie, Ont., that saw musicians from around the world unite online to perform their own versions of a song called “We Are One.”
Down also spoke with a priest who taped photos of his parishioners to his pews as he streamed his mass online, trying to keep them together.
And then there’s Carter Mann, the boy who wrote a poem to inspire frontline heroes like his own Dad, who is a paramedic. The Grade 5 student from Sudbury, Ont. had his poem featured on CTV National News’ broadcast on April 8.
Down wanted to document how the nation navigated such dark times with kindness. And she said that working on the book helped her cope with challenges her own family was facing during the pandemic.
She told CTV News that “the response has been amazing. I’m so pleased.”
The stories included in the book are just the tip of iceberg. Down says that there are so many stories left over that she and Kenwell might just have to do a second book.
