Work. That’s the inescapable focus of Country Roads, a collection of 34 memoirs by Canadians with a farm past – and a few who still live on farms. However, this kind of labour is seen by these writers as almost entirely a good thing. In “There Isn’t One Thing I’d Change,” former NHLer Brent Sutter (writing with Andrew Leitch) argues that his parents’ insistence on the participation of their sons in the daily business of the farm helped him and five brothers become disciplined and ambitious, and led to their success as hockey players. In “The Centre of the Universe,” Pamela Wallin reminisces about her formative years in Wadena, Saskatchewan, a place she still considers home even though she left it as a young woman and has spent most of her adult life in big cities.

Several of the writers have a somewhat sentimental view of rural life. Stories of families who pull together against poverty and the elements abound. And while many of the writers no longer live on farms, they all believe rural life helped shape them in a positive way. For example, Pamela Banting’s elegantly written “Believe It or Not” describes how life in a small Manitoba town, which she calls “charmed,” influenced her career as a writer and lover of nature.

Another common thread is the idea of space, which gives room for thought and imagination. Because rural people seldom travel, their own worlds become places of intimacy and knowledge. Children have more freedom to roam, and need to make their own fun.

Overall, the collection shows how much rural life is changing and diminishing. Some pieces, such as Laurie Elmquist’s “Burning the Fields,” show unequivocally why their authors left the farm. Others show why people stay or return. In “Coming Home,” Gordon Tootoosis (writing with Pam Chamberlain) describes the pain of being taken from his home and put in a residential school, and his homecoming many years later. 

Chamberlain has assembled a wide range of writers and experiences in Country Roads, and she has done a service in reminding us about the significance of the strong men, women, and children who live rural lives.