Author paints vivid picture of life, grief
“Where I Live Now” by Sharon Butala
Sharon Butala is described on the cover of her book “Where I Live Now” as “One of this country’s true visionaries” and this statement could not be more true. She seems to have thought through many of the memories she has and pulled a piece of wisdom from every part. She not only sees with stark clarity the depth and breadth of grief, but also tells the heartbreaking tale of surrender and displacement to the moment she realized she was home.
Butala speaks of memories giving us meaning and it stirs within the soul a deep, personal awakening to bring the subconscious into the light of day to see memory as the culmination of who we are and the mark we make on the world.
Her husband, Peter, brought her out to his ranch to live, and begin anew at the age of 36 and she remained there for 31 years. She cultivated a deep appreciation and love for the land she shared with her husband about which she writes in beautiful detail. The story of the land mixed with simile, metaphor and narrative that causes the reader to smile in the incredible stillness she describes. The loss of her husband is spoken of in so many ways, with many metaphors, one of the most powerful being her lungs filling with dark water. Grief is sporadic, ever-changing and different. It causes a person to drift in and out of moments, a life that is lived in the present, then as a flashback and looking forward and this is how the book is written. Life is not simply life, it is memory; it is existence; it is our heart’s cry for meaning, love and the desire to be understood.
Grief is a journey; it strikes the heart and changes us forever. We are marked by the people we love and the pain it causes to lose them. She puts into words what grief is, how it feels, and how she walked through it in such vivid detail that it would be hard to walk away from this book without a changed perspective.
Her passion to be a writer drove her to be constantly digging into the realities of her new world that became her whole world and the seemingly minute, yet inescapably powerful experiences, she had. It is an inspirational autobiography and encourages dreamers while portraying the manifestation of grief and the majesty of nature.
Batula is an award-winning author who writes both fiction and nonfiction with books that have topped the bestsellers’ list. She was named an Office of the Order of Canada in 2002 and, as her book informs, now lives in Calgary.
She is coming to Lethbridge on Sept. 23 for The Word On The Street Festival at the Lethbridge Public Library. Go online to http://thewordonthestreet.ca/lethbridge for more information.