Goodbye, 2025 - and thank you

Ah, 2025! You were good to me. 

I wrote a book, The Golden Daughter, and had the joy of seeing it published by The House of Anansi Press, Canada’s prestigious - and oldest - independent publisher. 

Writing my book led me to my birth father’s grave in Northern Ontario. All my life, I never knew who he was, nor what happened to him. Finding his grave led to finding my family in Poland, a family I never knew I had. My mother never told me anything of my father and his family. I only found out after she died, from the letters she left. And those letters became the basis of The Golden Daughter.

These discoveries were in 2024, but they took shape in 2025 as the research and the writing gathered pace. There were more transatlantic visits and lots of messages back and forth. I still can't get over the fact that I now have family, and that I am part of a wonderful tribe in Poland. And all because of my book.

Here's a five-minute video compilation of highlights from 2025, from the launch of The Golden Daughter to some of the media attention that followed.

Let me end by expressing my sincere thanks to everyone who read the book, or invited me to a book club meeting, or came along to some of the other events that have keep me busy this year. And a special thank-you to everyone who wrote, or texted, or called to tell me how much they'd enjoyed The Golden Daughter, and how - in many cases - it raised issues of family relationships that they, too, had experienced.