In 1948, divorced mother of four Stella McCandless--much to the horror of her straight-laced Victoria family--fell in love with and married several-years-younger (and several inches shorter) Bob Smith, a nomadic trapper and self-professed flaunter of convention. Being herself of a rebellious nature and craving release from the strictures of her traditional society lifestyle, Stella packed up her two younger children and followed Bob from Smithers to the Yukon and back to the Cariboo as he tried to find his fortune and settle into family life. Bob's sudden and untimely death in 1956 left Stella with their young son and the challenge of coming to terms with the loss of her 'north star.' Stella's is the story of a woman whose odyssey of independence led to the discovery of inner strength and the courage to live her life her own way.

Stella T. Jenkins' profile page

Mark E. Smith's profile page

Stella Jenkins, nee Cuming, was born in Victoria, BC to parents that had emigrated from London, England. The Cuming family was part of the 'Victoria 400'society set. Following her graduation from prestigious St. Margaret's School in 1933, she married George McCandless, whose family was close friends with her parents, and with whom she had four children. By 1945 the marriage was failing and the couple separated in 1948. By this time Stella had met the six-years-younger, peripatetic trapper and outdoorsman, Bob Smith, who--much to the chagrin of her family and friends in Victoria--she married in 1949. Wrong Highway is the story of their relationship. Bob died in 1956, leaving Stella with a young son. She remained a widow until 1972, when she married Alan Jenkins, a provincial government employee and former navy officer. She was widowed again early in 1991. Over her working life, Stella held various office positions in the provincial government, eventually retiring from the office of the BC Forest Service in Victoria. She has had an enduring interest in the paranormal and spiritualism, and in 2007 published Mind the Gap: Bridging Here with the Hereafter. Stella, now 95, resides in Victoria, BC.