Dancing in Gumboots

Adventure, Love & Resilience: Women of the Comox Valley

Edited by Lou Allison
Selected by Jane Wilde

Categories: Anthology, Feminism
Imprint: Caitlin Press
Paperback : 9781987915761, 208 pages, September 2018

Back by popular demand, Dancing in Gumboots is the long-awaited sequel to the wildly successful anthology, Gumboot Girls.

Description

After the extraordinary success of Gumboot Girls comes the sequel anthology, Dancing in Gumboots. Having relocated to Comox, Jane encountered a new group of women who travelled to the Comox Valley in the 1970s. Fascinated by their stories, Lou Allison and Jane Wilde return to their dynamic partnership to bring us an anthology that shines a light on these trailblazing women and their unique stories.

The 1970s was a time of intense cultural shifts for women all over North America. Freedom from traditional gender roles and expectations encouraged widespread relocation of young women seeking adventure and meaning, often migrating from urban to rural locations. The agricultural area of the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island offered a unique opportunity to these young women. Dancing in Gumboots collects the stories of thirty-two women who traveled from around North America to Vancouver Island, eventually settling in and around the Comox Valley. The young women who chose the agricultural Vancouver Island area to make their homes, showcase the personal challenges and struggles arising from such radical change.