by Ida Gabriel

This booklet was put together by a woman in the North Branch Library Upgrading Program in Halifax. Ida Gabriel writes about her mother's life, using stories her mother told her.

The story is so well told and with such good illustrations that you feel like you know Hattie and her life. There is information about changes that have taken place in the last 100 years - not all of them for the better.

Women in literacy programs will be interested in this writing by another learner. The way the book is put together will help them see how they could be involved in writing as well.

This book will be interesting for other Black women. The Nova Scotia Black community is very old and very established. It is useful for everyone to see how much the members of this community have been a part of our history. For example, Hattie's husband and children worked in the coal mines - but we do not often hear about Black labor in these settings. Ida Gabriel manages to talk about some of the issues of race in a straightforward way and with humour.

Some women may want to look at more Nova Scotia history when they read this book.

There are a great many excellent illustrations in the booklet. They add a lot to the text. There are photo- graphs, line drawings, graphics and newspaper reproductions.

A review by the Halifax Working Group, Halifax, N.S.