I loved Sweetland, so had to ask for this memoir as well, to return to Canada's Atlantic islands. Bay of Hope is a memoir of sorts, a journal, and David Ward is very open with his wants and needs at this time of his life. A tenured professor, he retired early to go to to his house on Bay of Hope and write full time. At fifty-something he needs to find a 'place', to not to be adrift any longer. He is in love with a way of life that is a dying art - living and fishing on an outport with very few of what we in this day and age consider essentials. Shopping. Malls. Theatres and movie houses and restaurants and bars. Everyone on the island can shop on-line if the internet is working but for the most part they already have everything they need. Or if they don't have it yet they can get it at Fudge's Store on the boardwalk in McCallum. Or they can go on the ferry to actual shops but who wants to shop?

David wants to fish and lobster and hunt moose. And he does all of that and more, and writes and keeps in touch with his outside acquaintances. On a trip home visiting friends and family in Ontario he allows himself to be seduced into buying a new car. There are no cars on McCallum. The ferry is not capable of carrying cars. He only needs a car three or four times a year. But, he tells us, he has a "lifelong love affair with the internal combustion engine", and when around automobiles, the "car-loving little boy in me kicks in and I go shopping". He needed that car. He needs a home. And he needs intimacy. He needs someone to talk with, to walk with, to climb mountains with. He wants to share his life, where ever he lives it. And he will most likely never find his life mate on McCallum. "-while it's population peaked at 284 in the late 1980's it has the same number of residents today - 79 - as it did when Henry was governor." (I am assuming this is Sir Henry Arthur Blake, governor from 1887 - 1889.) There are five school aged children in that count, but most of the population there are late middle aged and senior citizens.

Things are affected dramatically by the Canadian government's 'offer' to buy out the residents on these small islands - but only if 90% of the residents agree to move to more populated mainland communities. This turns want-to-leave neighbors against those not willing to leave, and vice-versa. The more people who do actually leave (or die) without waiting for the majority vote, the harder it is for those holding out for the pay off to get to the crucial 90%. You have to actually live there for two plus years before you can vote.

David loves the life on his island, his neighbors, his work, his recreations. There is only one thing missing. Besides the car.

I received a free electronic copy of this memoir from Netgalley, David Ward, and ECW Press in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

A nice little slice of life from a CFA. It's a well-drawn and occasionally elegiac look at life in rural Newfoundland.

A few years ago, I visited Newfoundland and absolutely loved it, so I was very excited to read this memoir of the five year's that the author spent in an outport in southwestern Newfoundland. The book details the life of the residents of McCallum during a time when the government is offering money for the residents to resettle to more urban areas, where public services are easier (cheaper) for the government to provide. "A lot of Newfoundlanders like to live in rural environments, but in no way do they wish to be there alone." This describes the town and residents of MCallum and the stories that are told in this memoir. This is a great read for anyone who has ever wanted to live "almost" off the grid or is interested in stories of rural Newfoundland.

I received a copy of this Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley and I highly recommend it.