Defiant Joy

July 15 | 2021

The summer of 1933, though almost a century ago, in some ways resembled the summer of 2021. Having endured the upheaval of the Great Depression, Canadians were hoping for better times ahead even as drought decimated the Prairies and homelessness was widespread, immigration severely reduced, and racism on the rise. None of this is apparent in the photo of my grandmother Rose with her first-born, Rene. Here they are on the stoop of their Montreal home in a moment of defiant joy. Rene, my mother, and her family are the subject of my recent memoir, The Smallest Objective. 

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