Dropped Threads

What are those life experiences that catch us by surprise, that haven't ever been part of our discussions or readings because they lie beyond the limit of words or the courage and will to articulate? When Carol Shields and Marjorie Anderson began asking other women - friends, colleagues, family members - what experiences had amazed them, disappointed them, caught them unprepared, the responses were immediate. Many women reacted as though this question was something they had been waiting to be asked, for years. Silences had been observed - and needed to be broken. Dropped Threads is the remarkable collection of reflective writings that emerged. The contributors are from a wide range if professions and lifestyles and their pieces are immediate, intelligent and revealing. Many names will be familiar: Margaret Atwood, Eleanor Wachtel, Bonnie Burnard, June Callwood, Marni Jackson, Sharon Butala. But there are also revelatory pieces from new voices, women academics, politicians, homemakers and lawyers who dare to pick up some of the dropped threads from the fabric of women's communication. A beautiful woven tapestry of perspectives on the silences that women still keep, Dropped Threads offers a community of voices that readers - not just women - will want to hear. Perhaps readers will, in turn, find the strength to examine the areas of surprise and silences in their own lives. - back cover of print version