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What was your favourite book by a Canadian author or about Canada that you read in 2011? What was great about it? We all want to know. :)

Hands down, it was People of the Deer by Farley Mowat. Mowat is a wonderful storyteller and adventurer, and most importantly, a passionate advocate. I learned an immense amount about what this particular group of First Nations peoples went through as a result of their contact with white men: a history that every Canadian should know.

My favourite fiction was Leaven of Malice, in which Robertson Davies hits his stride. Funny, with fantastic characters and a whole town (aka Kingston) of 1950s Canada come to life.

My favourite non-fiction was Vimy. This was just brilliant. Pierre Berton gives us a soldier's eye view of not just the battle itself, but the whole prelude and the aftermath. At the same time, he tells us why this was such a crucial event in the history of Canada, even though it didn't mean very much to the outcome of the war itself. Brilliant on every level. The only downside? There wasn't quite enough of it.

My favourite CanLit was Elizabeth Hay's Alone in the Classroom . I liked the writing and bringing landscapes and people intimately together, her central characters stay in your mind. I re-read her first novel too - A Student of Weather - and I liked it even more the second time round. I should add that I lived until recently in her part of town which made the stories very personal. Yet, the quality of writing is independent of that aspect.

Jackson

First and foremost, I want to say that this in one of the most emotional, if not the most emotional book that I have read in an extremely long time.

Ms. McLaughlin, thank you so much for writing this book and for bringing this subject to the forefront. We need to break the stigma of this dreaded disorder.

This book deals with a subject very near and dear to my heart, Mental Health.

The story deals with the mental health challenges faced by Jackson, the son of parents who love their son very much but find it difficult struggling to navigate the way to show their love for their son while trying to support him and yet maintain their own mental health.

While this book is fictional, the situations that are dealt with are very real. I know through first hand experience of having dealt with my own mental health challenges and how people treated me, with misunderstanding, with curiosity, with insensitivity but with a single parent mother who loved me, stood by each and every moment. I also am a volunteer with the Canadian Mental Health Association.

If you or a loved one one struggle with mental health issues, or are one who is interested in finding about mental health challenges, I recommend that you read this book. It is highly educational and emotional. It will certainly help you to understand what it is like to deal with this issue each and every day on a very personal level. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Every person has either dealt with these issues themselves or are aware of someone who has or is dealing with these issues.

Let's end the stigma now. Not all disabilities are visible.
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