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Description

​Description: Ruth Williamson, aka Miss G, grew up in Jamaica. She left at a young age, under her mother’s direction, to pursue a nursing education in England. Ruth then chose her own path, which led her to Canada in the late 1960s. Unlike many immigrants from the Caribbean at that time, Ruth ended up in rural Saskatchewan, working as a nurse while adjusting to the culture and climate of the Canadian Prairies. She married Ian MacLeod in Saskatoon in 1971, blending cultures in a mixed-race marriage that was unusual for its era. She built a nursing career that spanned over forty years, and mentored women and children from other countries and backgrounds. It wasn’t until the nickname “Miss G” came up during a phone call from Jamaica that her daughter, author Jennifer Wallace, began asking more questions and unravelling the mysteries of her mother’s life. Miss G and Me uses anecdotes, journals, poetry, and personal essays to weave together the story of Ruth (Williamson) MacLeod – Miss G.

SK Curriculum: Grades 10-12 – Social Studies, ELA, Health
​978-1927570-75-3; 5.5”x8.5”; 208 pages; 25 photos. 

Awards/Honours:  One Book One Province 2024 winning title, Saskatchewan Library Association; 2020 John V. Hicks Long Manuscript Award, Creative Nonfiction

© ​2022; Ages 12 to Adult. Nonfiction, Memoir, Poetry, Essays, Journals; Black history; Biography & Autobiography / Cultural, Ethnic & Regional / African American & Black; Family & Relationships / Multiracial Families; Canadian history; Prairie Provinces; Canadian author. 

Also available as an e-book from Kobo, Apple, Amazon, and Overdrive. Search e-book vendor site by book title or author name. 

About the Author: Jennifer S. Wallace is a French Immersion teacher, judo sensei, writer, artist, and author. She loves teaching, singing, painting, reading, travelling, and buying too many children’s books. In 2009, Jennifer wrote and published her first book, a nonfiction children’s story called When He Opened His Eyes: Gordon’s Story, about her firstborn. She writes articles and poems for Sister Triangle, an online women’s magazine and has led writing workshops and writers’ events. In 2020, the non-published manuscript of Miss G and Me: A Daughter’s Memoir was awarded third place in the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild’s John V. Hicks Long Manuscript Award for Creative Nonfiction. Jennifer was born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Treaty 6 Territory, and lives there with the loves of her life: John, Imogen, Isaac, and their two dogs.

Responses from Readers:

• “It is a wonderful book. A delight to read. A veritable testament to the strength of your mom. And an amazing insight into a Jamaican immigration journey. Very valuable as a history lesson as well.”
  
• “What a wonderful book! So interesting that I could hardly put it down at times.”
  
• “Warm, gracious, and original.”
• “Over the moon excited…just bought my copy…
  Oh my goodness…40 minutes later and I’m still in the parking lot reading. It’s cold outside, but the sun is strong on my face…I’m transported back to my two weeks in Jamaica…I hear the nuances of the Jamaican accent…I’m there… What a thrill!” 
  
• “The author knows there are mysteries and untold nuances inherent in the story of a mother who crossed the ocean to start a new life.” 

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