Framed By Our Houses

What's it like being the only Anglophones settling into the rural Beauce region south of Québec City, where no one keeps a lock on their door? What kind of struggles does one encounter as a young adult living in communal housing in Peterborough, Ontario in the era of love, peace, and rock and roll? How does it feel to eke out a rugged living in a remote cabin in Brighton Beach, BC, without any experience of that lifestyle?

Author William R. Marshall can tell you the answers, since these are all lives he's lived. Full of warmth, heart, and a delightful sense of humour, Framed by Our Houses is a gorgeous collection of stories of Marshall's time spent in different houses across Canada, from farm to sea and city. Recounting stories of his life living in, staying in, and visiting these houses across the nation-and across the span of his life-Marshall paints a charming portrait of Canadian life, touching on all manner of rites and rituals of childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and aging as he does, as well as gesturing to wider issues of settler-Indigenous relations, immigration, and the increasing loss of community roots in the modern world. In such a world, we might all be better off doing as Marshall has, trading roots for webs, finding our place amidst a sprawling network of relationships spanning space and time.

Having lived in over thirty different locations across Canada, William R. Marshall has witnessed-and indeed lived-all kinds of different lifestyles from across the nation. Observant and insightful, with a degree in anthropology under his belt, he also could not help but think deeply about these different ways to live as he did so. His professional life has involved designing, writing, and editing publications in association with distinct communities-neighbourhood associations, wildlife rescuers, post-secondary students, people with disabilities, folk singers, a boating organization, and everything in between. In addition to this work, Marshall has been the healthy communities coordinator for Coquitlam, BC and also acted as the president of a strata council. In all, his experience-both professional and personal-has led him to believe deeply in the power of community for shaping happy, healthy lives-no small part of his inspiration in writing this, his first book. He lives in Port Coquitlam, BC with his wife of fifty-five years.