Ruth Anne Latta

  I, too, a sister had, an only sister - She loved me dearly, and I doted on her; To her I poured forth all my puny sorrows; (As a sick patient in a nurse's arms,) And of the heart those hidden maladies ­ That e'en from friendship's eye will shrink ashamed. O! I have waked at midnight, and have wept Because she was not!     (From Samuel Taylor Colderidge's poem, "To my friend, with an unfinished poem"     a condolence poem from 1794.) This past June 1st was the second anniversary of my sister, Sandra's, death. I still miss her badly and wanted to post something on that date, but couldn't think of anything good enough. Then, watching the movie, "All my Puny Sorrows," based on a Miriam Toews novel, I looked up the Coleridge poem from which the quote comes. Sandra was my best friend and close confidante. Every so often I think, "I must phone her and tell her about...." and it takes a moment for me to remember that I can't. That rem...

  God willing, I'll be signing copies of  my latest novel, "A Striking Woman," at Indigo's Pinecrest store, 2735 Iris Street, Ottawa, on July 14, 2024, from 1 to 3 p.m.  "A Striking Woman" is a story of true love and trade union organizing. Do drop by and say hello. Here is a short excerpt from the novel: The year? 1946.  The place?  "Meadowvale," QC, where Frank and Jacqueline are union leaders in a cotton mill workers' strike. The scene? Their office in the union hall.     "Your eyes are awfully red," [Frank said.]  His eyes, through his lenses, were pools of concern.     "I was just having a weak moment." [Jacqueline replied.]"Some cloistered nuns here in town are in novena under the spiritual direction of the monseigneur, praying for the defeat of the union."     Frank perched on the edge of her desk.     "In a novena? That reminds me of a story. A man went to confession and told the priest that he couldn...