“Every time we raise our voices, we hear echoes.” Jo-Anne Elder, from the Foreword

Through short stories, journal entries and poetry, the women in Voices and Echoes explore the changing landscape of their spiritual lives. Experienced writers such as Lorna Crozier, Di Brandt and Ann Copeland, as well as strong new voices, appear to speak to each other as they draw from a wealth of personal resources to find a way to face life’s questions and discover meaning in their lives.

There is something familiar about these stories and poems — they echo those we’ve heard before and those we’ve half forgotten. Whether they search for a voice in a world where men monopolize or journey into painful memories to free the self from the past, they do not despair, they do not end. Individual entries become the whole story — an unending story of rebirth and reaffirmation.

The book begins with an illuminating foreword that introduces readers to the cultural and philosophical background of many of the stories, and concludes with the reflections of scholars, writers and artists that are intended to provoke further discussion.

Jo-Anne Elder was a member of the Romance Languages Department in 1990-1991. Since then, she has taught French part-time and more recently has taught in the Gender Studies Program. Active as a writer, translator, and editor, she wrote Postcards from Ex-Lovers (Broken Jaw Press, 2005) and has translated many works from French into English. Three of her translations — a novel (Tales from Dog Island: St. Pierre et Miquelon, Killick, 2002) and two books of poems (Beatitudes, Goose Lane, 2007, and One, Goose Lane, 2009) — were shortlisted for Governor General's Awards. She is editor of la revue ellipse magazine, a journal devoted to Canadian literature in translation.

Jo-Anne Elder's profile page

Colin O’Connell, currently a free-lance journalist and co-author of Liberation Education and Value Relativism, received his Ph.D. in religious studies from McMaster University.

Colin O’Connell's profile page

''The issues delved into ... reflect a broad range of spiritual experiences....''

Sharon Chisvin

''The task and the outcome reflect a postmodern sensibility, allowing for plurality and a free-floating perspective. This book does not presuppose a sectarian approach, instead it offers the personal and anything-goes route, transformation through Buddhism, Native spirituality, Christianity, Judaism and Goddess worship.''

Katie Cottreau-Robins