Books and Beyond

How does one unravel oneself from an imaginary friend, especially when that “friend” has been integral to your journey? That’s a question Hollay Ghadery, Artsci’04, asks in her debut novel, The Unravelling of Ou. The Iranian-Canadian writer’s novel is about the relationship between Minoo and her beloved sock puppet, Ecology Paul. As Minoo decides whether to break with the puppet over familial concerns, the book explores teenage pregnancy in Iran, exile to Canada, sexuality, and how a sock came to support Minoo emotionally. It’s an imaginative novel that examines trauma, cultural norms, and mental health. The author’s acclaimed memoir Fuse won the 2023 Canadian Book Club Award. The Unravelling of Ou is available at Palimpsest Press.

Trailblazing lawyer Harvey Brownstone, Law’80, was Canada’s first openly gay judge. After 26 years on the bench, Justice Brownstone is now retired – and he’s not holding back. His new book, Without Prejudice: My Life as a Gay Judge, is an unflinching memoir that takes readers on a poignant and, at times, darkly funny journey behind the scenes of criminal and family courts. Mixing his professional story of judicial innovation with personal reflections on the many challenges he faced over the years, Justice Brownstone paints an autobiographical portrait of resilience. Watch for a Hollywood film adaptation starring David Arquette this fall. Without Prejudice: My Life as a Gay Judge is available at ECW Press.

Charting one’s path through life is rarely simplistic – especially when it comes to careers. Dennis Pitt’s grandfather and parents were all involved in the Canadian Armed Forces, so that career path seemed inevitable. Yet after a few “pivotal events,” Dr. PItt, MD’72, found himself applying for medical college. Once there, the field of choice was wide open, though the idea of becoming a surgeon had never been part of his plan. A Journey in Surgery: The Memoir of a Canadian Surgeon recounts Dr. Pitt’s career as a surgeon; it also serves as a commentary on the history of medicine as well as its future. Dr. Pitt sadly passed away in February, but his book remains as a record of his life and work. A Journey in Surgery: The Memoir of a Canadian Surgeon is available at FriesenPress.

Our stories matter, but sometimes it’s necessary to “restory” our lives – that is, look back at the past to map a new future. Michael Gauthier, MEd’11, PhD’17, knows well how this can be done. In Restorying Your Story: Reclaiming Your Voice in the Face of Past Injustice, he writes about his experience as a young Indigenous man, a “Survivor of intergenerational trauma,” who turned to addiction as a way of coping and was eventually incarcerated. He then worked to restory his life by breaking cycles of harm, working to change internal narratives. Restorying Your Story: Reclaiming Your Voice in the Face of Past Injustice is available at Medicine Wheel Publishing.

Feeling a little shell-shocked by Canada’s current economic turmoil? Canada’s Economy, Explained is a podcast to help make sense of the state of the economy. From trade to inflation, each episode features insights and analysis by experts from the Business Data Lab (BDL). The podcast is hosted by Marwa Abdou, Com’08, Artsci’09, a senior research director at BDL, an organization founded by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. A BDL production, the podcast is available on 14 streaming platforms and covers topics such as Trump tariffs, women entrepreneurs, Canada’s recession risk, and more. Listen to Canada’s Economy, Explained.

In contrast to the stance taken by the United States toward Cuba, Canada has continued to foster a relationship with the island, thanks in part to connections forged between individuals. In Strangely, Friends: A History of Cuban-Canadian Encounters, author Karen Dubinsky, PhD’91 – Queen’s professor emeritus, Global Development Studies/History – reveals the often-overlooked history of human relationships that defy borders. The book is inspired in part by the Queen’s–University of Havana educational/cultural exchange program, which she helped co-ordinate from 2008 to 2023. Strangely, Friends: A History of Cuban-Canadian Encounters is available at Between the Lines.

A mysterious woman keeps reappearing at the edge of a dying mining town, only to disappear back into the wilds of British Columbia. A constable is assigned the unenviable task of investigating these sightings, but his search threatens to destroy him – and possibly the entire town. The Weary Carry On, the debut novel by Bowman Wilker, Artsci’93, is set in 1923, a pivotal moment in Canadian history marked by the downfall of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad and the formation of the RCMP. The author’s prior work includes the children’s picture book Crackerjack Jack (2018), and contributions to various children’s magazines. The Weary Carry On is available at The Wild Rose Press.

What happens when familial relationships become tangled up with money? Count On Me, by Ann Cavlovic, MA’00, explores the unravelling of an already dysfunctional family grappling with aging, debt, and generational harm. Heartfelt, humorous and poignant, the novel, which is set in Kingston, looks at our sense of entitlement to other people’s money, generational cycles, and how relationships can transcend transactions. This is her first novel; her short fiction and creative non-fiction have been published in Canadian literary journals and magazines. Count On Me is available from Guernica Editions.

What happens when familial relationships become tangled up with money? Count On Me, by Ann Cavlovic, MA’00, explores the unravelling of an already dysfunctional family grappling with aging, debt, and generational harm. Heartfelt, humorous and poignant, the novel, which is set in Kingston, looks at our sense of entitlement to other people’s money, generational cycles, and how relationships can transcend transactions. This is her first novel; her short fiction and creative non-fiction have been published in Canadian literary journals and magazines. Available from Guernica Editions.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, militaries were routinely deployed domestically, including in Canada. Was the military’s role scrutinized? What was the extent of civilian oversight and control? Were there accountability measures in place? And when it was all over, had the military’s public image changed? Editors Dr. Christian Leuprecht, PhD’03, and Lindy Heinecken seek to address these questions in Military Operations in Response to Domestic Emergencies and Global Pandemics. Published in July 2025, Military Operations in Response to Domestic Emergencies and Global Pandemics is now open access and available for free from Springer Nature.

When there’s a leak, we typically blame the pipe without considering the forces at work that might be creating the leak. This “leaky pipe metaphor” has been used to blame women who enter STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine) but then “leak” from careers – that is, leave their fields. Busting this myth, Beyond the Pipeline examines the systemic pressures forcing women out of their disciplines. Contributing author Emily Bishop, Sc’09, and others share stories of burnout, bias, career pivots, and resilience, arguing for strategies to create more inclusive and sustainable STEMM workplaces. Beyond the Pipeline is available from ELMM Press.

Remember SARS – the acute respiratory illness that struck Toronto in 2003 and made thousands sick, killed more than 40 people, and shut the city down economically? That was just one of several “near-­pandemics” that preceded the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. From SARS to other outbreaks, these crises exposed how unprepared governments were, in particular highlighting the short-sightedness of leaders. In Future-Generation Government, Nick Chesterley, Artsci’10, looks at practical reforms that can help leaders respond to tomorrow’s challenges without compromising today’s democratic rights and freedoms. Future-Generation Government is available from McGill–Queen’s University Press.

Imagine being caught between two worlds: a stranger in your country of origin but uncomfortable in your new home. Cyril Dabydeen, MA’74, MPA’75, left Guyana during the 1970s, when the intelligentsia was being pushed out, for Lake Superior, Canada. Never quite at home here but unable to set down roots himself in his home country, the now well-established Canadian poet reflects on this state of intermundane in Forgotten Exiles. Themes of race, class, and self-discovery are at the heart of the collection’s enthralling narratives. Forgotten Exiles is available at Mosaic Press.

Learning to understand “who you are talking to, what the situation is, and how to filter yourself accordingly” are fundamental to building stronger relationships, according to Ami Trivedi, Artsci’19, MIB’21. This aptitude helped inform the entrepreneur’s philosophy behind her podcast, Ask For It, in which she shares sales strategies, mindset shifts, and real-world lessons to help people elevate their performance. Her episodes address how to nail an interview, ask for a raise, and take control of one’s career. Ask For It is found on most platforms offering podcasts.

Take two music lovers and add a desire for North American travel and you get a guidebook for the musically obsessed. Co-authored by Craig Jones, MA’87, PhD’97, and his wife, Josephine Matyas, The Music Lover’s Guide to North America explores the familiar (think Nashville) to the less well known: including the Celtic Interpretive Centre in Cape Breton, N.S., featuring Ashley MacIsaac’s and Natalie MacMaster’s fiddles, to the Hank Snow Home Town Museum in Liverpool, N.S. The Music Lover’s Guide to North America is available from Bloomsbury Publishing October 2025.

Ever since she was young, Melodie Campbell, Com’78, wanted to be either Carolyn Keene (the pen name used by authors of the Nancy Drew series) or Agatha Christie, and she’s well on her way to achieving that, having authored 19 novels, many of them mysteries. Her latest whodunnit, The Silent Film Star Murders, involves former mob goddaughter Lucy Revelstoke (from her Merry Widow series) confronting another murder. This one is set on an ocean liner during the roaring ’20s. The Silent Film Star Murders is available from Cormorant Books.