Synopses & Reviews
In the tradition of the bestselling
Dropped Threads and
Dropped Threads 2 comes this new collection of essays from well-known writers and new voices.
Ever since the publication of the first two Dropped Threads books, readers and writers have longed for another installment — and here it is. For this collection, editor Marjorie Anderson took a new thematic path, searching out pieces that dont necessarily focus on what women havent been told, but rather on what they have to tell. In Dropped Threads 3: Beyond the Small Circle, thirty-five women open up their own small circles of experience to others in ways that not only illuminate the lives of individual women but add more threads to the already-rich tapestry of our collective conversation.
These essays focus on personal discoveries that, for various reasons, need to be shared: the writers tell us about family secrets, sexuality, rebellion, crevices of deep joy or regret; about finding connections to nature, to animals, to a “tribe” to which one can belong; about embracing forgiveness, kindness, and new perspectives beyond the circle of individual sight. Barbara McLean tells us of the sister she never knew, and how recovering her story shed light on how grief can take so many different forms. June Callwood explores the continuity that flows between mothers and daughters, and the mysterious, chance happenings that form character. Frances Itani writes about how the voices of the women in her family - her aunts and grandmother relaying stories around the kitchen table - are as integral to her life as her own genetic code. Melanie Janzen sees connections between a Ugandan womens collective and the neighbourhood women of her childhood, but has trouble finding a similar community of support in her own life today. And in all of the pieces, there is a powerful sense that the understanding that comes from writing and reading can enrich our lives beyond measure.
As Marjorie Anderson writes in her foreword, we trust first-person narratives precisely because they give us an inside view into someone elses world; here, as in the best of our personal conversations, there are “no assertions of absolute truth, no earth-shaking revelations or attempts to manipulate anothers belief, just individual voices making individual claims on the discovery of meaning.” With Dropped Threads 3: Beyond the Small Circle, Anderson has created a forum in which Canadian women can share their personal discoveries with honesty, insight and humour.
Marjorie Anderson (foreword)
Margaret Atwood
June Callwood
Tracey Ann Coveart
Lorna Crozier
Andrea Curtis
Norma DePledge
Maggie de Vries
M.A.C. Farrant
Liane Faulder
Natalie Fingerhut
Lorri Neilsen Glenn
Marie-Lynn Hammond
Harriet Hart
Frances Itani
Melanie D. Janzen
Gillian Kerr
Chantal Kreviazuk
Silken Laumann
Jodi Lundgren
Ann-Marie MacDonald (introduction)
C.B. Mackintosh
Heather Mallick
Barbara McLean
Barbara Mitchell
Bernice Morgan
Patricia Pearson
Beth Powning
Judy Rebick
Susan Riley
Lauri Sarkadi
Barbara Scott
Jodi Stone
Cathy Stonehouse
J. C. Szasz
Aritha van Herk
Janice Williamson
Synopsis
In the tradition of the enormously popular and bestselling
Dropped Threads and
Dropped Threads 2, comes this singular collection of essays from well-known writers and new voices.
The thirty-five essays in this collection focus on personal discoveries that these women writers want to share with other women: family secrets, sexuality, rebellion, their own crevices of deep joy or regret; about being a late bloomer, finding connections to nature, to animals, to finding a “tribe” to which they belong; about embracing forgiveness, kindness, and new perspectives beyond the small circle of individual sight. The need to share these stories is undeniable, and in Beyond the Small Circle, Marjorie Anderson has created a forum for Canadian women to share and discuss their experiences of growth and discovery with honesty, insight and humour.
About the Author
Marjorie Anderson has a Ph.D. in literature and taught in the English Department and Faculty of Management at the University of Manitoba for
twenty years. During that time she was awarded the Universitys Award for Excellence in Teaching and was chosen to teach in a number of international programs, including an MBA program in the Czech Republic. Now, through her company, Wordwise, she works as a communication consultant and professional editor. She is the seventh of eight children born to Ásdis and Thorsteinn Anderson, Icelandic-Canadian fishers, farmers and storytellers who farmed in the hamlet of Libau, on the edges of Lake Winnipeg. Anderson and her husband, Gary, live in Winnipeg and take delight in their four daughters, four sons-in-law and seven grandchildren.
Due to her lifelong interest in writing, editing and storytelling, as well as her passion for bringing womens issues to the forefront, Andersons work on the Dropped Threads books came somewhat naturally to her. She became friends with Carol Shields in the 1980s when they were both teaching at the University of Manitoba, and later they collaborated on the first two Dropped Threads anthologies. The idea for the first collection came up over lunch when they started discussing what topics were “undiscussable” for women, and where there were holes in the fabric of womens talk over the last thirty or forty years. The interest in the topic expanded beyond them to their other women friends, and from this conversational fervour the idea for a collection of personal essays was born. The contributors, a cross-section of women, would be asked to explore defining moments in their lives rarely aired in common discourse: truths they had never shared, subjects they hadnt written about before or otherwise found a place for. What they wanted to hear about were the experiences that had brought unexpected pleasure or disappointment, that somehow had caught each woman by surprise.
The pieces, so many “dropped threads” retrieved and woven together, would become a tapestry of stories about things women experience but dont talk about. The resulting book, Dropped Threads: What We Arent Told, came out in 2001 and became an instant national bestseller. For Anderson, one of the best results of the books popularity was how it resonated with so many women and brought them together; as she explained in one interview, “One of the most gratifying experiences I've had as an editor of this book has been taking part in book clubs and bookstore gatherings of readers who want to talk about the theme of the book, in particular, and the benefits of storytelling and life writing in general. The energy in these rooms sizzles, the emotions and personal revelations flow freely, and we all leave with profound nourishment for our souls.” Dropped Threads 2: More of What We Arent Told was published in 2003 and was also very well received. Both books have since become staples for book clubs nationwide.
Reading Group Guide
1. In her foreword, Marjorie Anderson describes these stories as “fresh glimpses” of “what might otherwise lie just beyond our own small circles of sight.” How does reading about the diverse experiences of other women affect you? Does it make you look at events in your own life in a different way?
2. A number of the pieces in this collection tell of the writers secret thoughts and hidden experiences. Why do you think the authors chose this collection as the right place to tell their stories? Would you ever write about difficult events in your life, or very private thoughts, and be able to publish your work for everyone to read?
3. While some of the contributors write about painful or life-altering events, others write about the simple joys that make life worth living — whether a camaraderie with coworkers or a connection to nature or the love for a pet. Compare these approaches, perhaps by finding stories that come to similar conclusions yet are remarkably different in topic or tone.
4. In “Notes on a Counterrevolution,” Patricia Pearson writes about the difficulty of being honest with her nieces about her own youthful transgressions. What do you think about the “Dont make the same mistakes I did” approach? Are we forced to be more honest with kids these days than in the past? Why or why not?
5. Tracey Ann Coveart, in “I Am a Mother,” writes about the feelings of inadequacy that plagued her marriage and her social life, due to her decision to be a full-time mom at an age when her friends were all focused on their careers. Compare the stories in this book that look at motherhood, and discuss the different ways women choose to - or are forced to - balance their lives.
6. In “Polonia,” Margaret Atwood writes about the compulsion to give advice to strangers, due to something she terms a “mother-robin hormone.” Compare the different approaches to advice-giving in this collection. Do you think this is an urge particular to women? Why or why not? Does the wisdom one achieves with age make it more or less likely a compulsion?
7. Which of the pieces in this collection affected you the most, or stayed with you the longest? Did you find yourself connecting more to the stories that mirrored your own experiences, or ones that showed perspectives very different from your own? Were there any pieces you just couldnt relate to or didnt like?
8. Have you ever tried to write about difficult aspects of your own life? Is it easier or harder to open up about your own experiences on the page than it is to talk candidly with family or friends?
9. Some of the contributors to DT 3 are well-known writers, or have achieved a level of fame for other reasons, like Silken Laumann and Chantal Kreviazuk. Others are less known or are being published for the first time. Did you find yourself approaching the stories differently, based on whether or not you recognized an authors name? Were you ever surprised by what you read as a result?
10. Dropped Threads 3 is broken into four “parts,” with the pieces grouped according to general themes. How do these groupings enhance the connections you make between stories that may be very unlike each other?
Author Q&A
The first two Dropped Threads anthologies have been enormously popular with readers. Are you surprised by the continuing interest in this project? Or not surprised at all?
I didn’t anticipate that the first DT anthology would have the powerful reader response that it did. Carol Shields, the publishers and I had a number of discussions about why these stories struck the chord they did. I don’t know that we came up with the answer, but we did conclude that readers were hungry for intimate peeks into the inner lives of women. Even if the readers hadn’t had the exact experiences that were written about, they could identify with the feelings being expressed. These personal accounts seemed to be received like postcards from another human location, allowing readers to become acquainted with what lies beyond their individual knowing. When I think of the stories in the anthologies in these terms – missives from the vast landscape of female experience – I am not surprised that readers and writers keep wanting more. Dropped Threads 2 and now this new anthology have appeared in response to this ongoing interest.
Do many women tell you, whether by writing letters or speaking to you at Dropped Threads events, about how they’ve been affected by the anthologies?
Yes, we have had both verbal and written “testimonials” regarding the effect the stories have had on readers. Many readers tell of finding themselves in the stories, of receiving validation for their inner thoughts and feelings. As one reader put it, “After reading these stories, I don’t feel so alone or so crazy.” Most amazing is that some women report that reading particular accounts in the books changed their lives. For example, one woman told us she got the courage to quit her job and go back to school after reading Jennifer Schulz’s DT 2 essay “Toe-Ring,” which asserts a woman’s right to intellectual ambition and pride.
As well, women who have experienced the brutalization of rape but have never been able to talk about it find consolation in Pamela Mala Sinha’s story “Hiding.” They claim that by telling her story of the terror of rape and its aftermath, Pamela has spoken for them too and has increased understanding and empathy.
Another response that stands out for me occurred when a reader told me that after reading the DT stories she came to understand that she had “the right” to have a story and to tell it, even if she only wrote it down in a journal. The fact that she felt she hadn’t the right to have a story spoke volumes about how isolated and disconnected some women can feel. These stories become lifelines for them.
In addition to contacting established writers, you solicited essays via the Dropped Threads website and the Globe and Mail. How has that process added to this collection?
The mix of literary voices – some well-known and some new to the national scene – has been a trademark of all the Dropped Threads books and has led to them being termed a “publishing phenomenon” because, usually, anthologies are collections from well-known writers only. The mix adds tremendously to the books–the stories come from a wider sweep of the community of women and allow for a broader base of identification. Those writers who are well-known expose their private sides and leave us with new connections to them and their art. One example is that breathtaking story “Losing Paul: A Memoir,” by Jane Urquhart. After experiencing the wedding of her amazing creative talents and the account of a private tragedy, readers experience a heightened admiration for her as a writer. As well, those writers who aren’t familiar to readers stand in for the woman-down-the-street who has a worthwhile and instructive story to tell. The end result is a recognition of the power of the personal narrative, regardless of the public profile of the writer.
Another way that the open call for submissions adds to the collection is that readers get to be familiar with the works of talented writers who may not have had national exposure before. When I think of the essays in the three books that have had most impact on me personally, some of them are from women who hadn’t had their writings published previously. There is a wealth of writing talent in Canada and these anthologies have become venues for bringing more of that to a national reading audience.
In your foreword, you write about how you came up with the idea for this anthology’s theme –“Beyond the Small Circle”– and shifting the focus from what women haven’t been told to what they have to tell. Was there a noticeable change in the submissions and/or in the final book?
The shift from what we aren’t told to what we’ve discovered and want to pass on has resulted in some distinct differences in submissions. In terms of the dropped threads image, the first two anthologies dealt with the gaps in the fabric of women’s conversations and creations. Writers examined areas of surprise and silence in their lives and, naturally, many of those areas were ones of pain. Our learning as readers was often what it was like to be inside an experience we may never have had. This new book focuses more on what women take from these experiences and how others can benefit from their learning. This new focus seemed to give women license to write more about less dramatic and more common spots of connection and joy. For example, DT 3 writers celebrate the connection to animals, nature, dance – things open to all of us. My sense is that this third anthology is a natural next step for the examination that went on in the first two books. Once we’ve taken a look at what we aren’t told, our inclination is to then go on and tell what we’ve discovered and want others to know. There is generally more of an instructive slant to many of the stories in this book.
What is the most personally rewarding part of your role as the editor of Dropped Threads 3?
The access I have to the community of women is the core joy I take from editing these books. I value the trust, the courage and the creative passions of the writers who open their lives to me and to the readers. It is a privilege to receive the personal stories of women, and I never lose sight of that. An extended joy will be to meet these writers at the public launches we will have across the country when the book comes out. Even though I may be meeting them in person for the first time, I’ll feel as though I’m being united with close friends. The other aspect of this community is the reading audience, which I’ll come together with at book clubs and reading events. These anthologies generate lively discussions and I love hearing what readers have to say about the relevance of the stories in their lives.
You co-edited the first two anthologies with your good friend Carol Shields. How has it been different, being the sole editor of this book?
I’ve thought about this often, and the image that comes to mind is of me soaring along on a tandem bicycle as a lone pedaller, without the person I want to be there pedalling along with me, providing companionship and support. There is another part of the image, though. I look over my shoulder and see the pedals behind me going around – Carol’s spirit is there on the bicycle with me, and I am buoyed up by the comfort of her presence. I also keep in my sights everything she taught me about “riding along” as an editor.
Is there a simple, overall message you would like women to take away from the experience of reading Dropped Threads 3?
Yes, and it is that reading personal stories is a profoundly serious and essential activity. Life is so much what goes on “inside” a person, and stories are our access to this inner landscape. They take us beyond our limited perspectives of truth and meaning and enlarge our understanding and acceptance of other ways of being and knowing. In yoga practice we repeat a lovely phrase: “The spirit in me honours the spirit in you.” My wish is that with each story that type of honouring happens between reader and writer.