Welcome Home - Travels in Smalltown Canada

I was a little leery about picking up another Stuart McLean book. I must admit that I wasn't a huge fan of the Vinyl Cafe when we read it for book club. Although I think if I had known it was based on his radio show I might have read it differently. But Welcome Home came highly reccomended by my friend Crystal so I thought I would give it a shot ... and I am glad that I did.

I didn't exactly grow up in a small town, but my grandparents lived on a farm just outside of one so I spent a lot of time in small town Alberta growing up. I remember my grandfather taking us into town on Saturday mornings. He would drink coffee and we would eat penny candy. He knew everyone in the cafe and they would all stop by the table to say hi and admire the grandkids. They all identified me as my mother's daughter. I remember church on Sunday mornings where again there was that sense of belonging, of everyone knowing everyone else by name. Fall suppers where all the ladies pitched in to serve a delicious meal. Weddings of 350+ people.

This book captured the essence of that small town spirit. Not only that, it reminded me of my roots and brought back memories of my grandfather long forgotten.