Editors - Si Transken – UNBC Associate Professor, Social Work/Women's Studies & Lynn Box – UNBC Alumina 2003

What – new book

“Making Noise: Northern Women, Caring, and In/Visible Dis/Abilities” 

When

Available now at the UNBC Bookstore, from the editors, or the UNBC Women’s Centre.

This book expresses the thoughts and feelings of twenty-six women who experience health issues in their own bodies/lives and / or struggle to care for those who have health issues here in northern British Columbia. Most women are vulnerable to encountering some aspects of these health problems at some time in our lives. Our contributors here have shared their experiences with: MS, migraines, IBS, heart attacks, menopause, schizophrenia, clinical depression, carpel tunnel, bipolar disease, healing from drug/alcohol addictions, insomnia, high blood pressure, asthma, fibromyalgia/ chronic fatigue syndrome, HIV/AIDs, horrible malfunctions of the bowel, witnessing & caring for a dying loved one.

We are hopeful that this book honors the creativity, resilience, complexities, courage, sense of humor, and righteous anger /disappointments that northern women confronting these life challenges manifest. We are also hopeful that this book will help the world understand the nuances and range of experiences we live with/ through. Our belief is that Making Noise will serve a vital purpose: to teach the wider community about ways to enhance and respect the lives of those who encounter these diseases/dis-eases. There may be other books out there which speak to these health and oppression concerns but our book, we believe, is more interesting, fresh, polyvocal – irresistibly Northern British Columbia flavored and distinctive. This book is also coming out at a time when privatization and ‘outsourcing’ and ‘downloading’ of health care costs are in the forefront. Women like us in this book – we aren’t the ones who’ll be invited into the real policy making and funding allocation discussions!