Heaps, Oceans of Love: Three Newfoundland Women in a Time Transition, 1944-1955

In this illuminating portrait of both urban and rural life for women in Newfoundland, Allison Fizzard curates a collection of letters exchanged between her late grandmother, mother, and aunt during the 1940s and 50s. For women living in outport communities, these decades brought with them new opportunities for education, mobility, and advancement; Flora Blake's two daughters, Molly and Elva, took advantage, moving away from their small fishing community of Barr'd Islands to pursue a future in teaching. Flora, Molly, and Elva's letters colourfully communicate the differences between rural and urban life during a critical period of social, economic, and political transition in Newfoundland. As Molly votes in the 1948 referendum and Elva struggles to learn French, their mother writes to them describing daily life back home, where accidents, illnesses, and church activities keep her busy. These letters, supplemented by diary entries penned by Molly and Elva, speak to the challenges, joys, and yearnings that accompany stepping outside of one's home and into one's own.