Two Ferries Out: Growing up on Brier Island

With self-deprecating humour and keen observational insights, Ben Robicheau tells the tale of life on Brier Island, Nova Scotia, in the middle of the twentieth century. He roams with us from the comic-book section of his father's store, to the destruction of an outhouse, from the tiny village movie theatre to where kids went and what they did when their parents told them to go outside and play."

You'll find here a cavalcade of childhood scrapes and near-disasters, foolish fun, and serious moments when lives are in peril.Ben also writes loving portraits of the Island postmistress, telephone operator, lighthouse keeper, and some cherished eccentrics.

Family photos from across the decades help us peer into this time when the people of Brier Island, two ferry rides away from anywhere, made a living and a community.

Ben Robicheau is the co-author with Jim Prime of "Fish and Dicks: Case files from the Digby Neck & Island Fish-Gutting Service & Detective Agency" (also published by Moose House). He also co-authored two award-winning plays with Jim for the King's Shorts Ten Minute Play competition at The King's Theatre in Annapolis Royal. For several years he was a regular contributor to the Digby Neck and Islands newsletter, Passages. Ben lives in Hamilton, Ontario, but visits his parents and sisters on Brier Island as often as possible.

Editor at Moose House Publications, and for the Apache Software Foundation.

Painter and designer.