The Daughter’s Dilemma

On the surface, this is a calm, straight-forward collection of autobiographical pieces by Canadian women. It has a foreword by Margaret Atwood. Many of the writers are well known as successful journalists or as writers of fiction. The pieces are presented in alphabetical order by author. There is not a whiff, in the title, of drama or scandal; indeed, the collection’s editor, Sandra Martin, deliberately chose an anodyne title, one that would not automatically signal incest, as if that might be the only subject worth writing about. No one does.

But what turmoil within. The book begins, the first time, with an apology from Ms. Atwood, who was asked to contribute a piece to the volume—every Canadian anthologist would kill for a contribution by Atwood and she is generous in her response to such requests—but who says, alas, she could not write the piece. She tried, but couldn’t; she had more research to do, her thoughts had wandered down an unexpected road ... she offers...