This new novel by the bestselling writer Anne Cameron is the story of two women who seem similar but are very different: Cedar Campbell and her mother Kate. Cedar comes into the world a few months after her parents' shotgun wedding and grows up with her father, who is violent and adulterous, and with Kate, who is far too accommodating and forgiving. By the time Cedar is ten years old she's spending most of her time at a neighbour's farm, finding solace in the animals and the straightforward hard work, and after she finishes high school she moves to the farm permanently. Kate is disappointed and jealous, seeing Cedar's choice as a defection or a rebuke, and Cedar is determined to keep moving, to be her own person and to avoid being haunted by past horrors. Through the years, from the time Kate is a young woman to the time Cedar is a middle-aged one, both women must grapple with the powerful and sometimes contradictory forces of love, anger, fear and forgiveness--each in her own way, in her own life.

Anne Cameron was born in Nanaimo, BC. She began writing at an early age, starting with theatre scripts and screenplays. In 1979, her film Dreamspeaker, directed by Claude Jutra, won seven Canadian Film Awards, including best script. After being published as a novel, Dreamspeaker went on to win the Gibson Award for Literature. She has published more than 30 books, including the underground classic Daughters of Copper Woman, its sequel, Dzelarhons, novels, stories, poems and legends - for adults and children. Her most recent novels are Family Resemblances, Hardscratch Row, and a new, revised edition of Daughters of Copper Woman. She lives in Tahsis, BC

Anne Cameron's profile page

"...Though her words are often harsh, she says them with humour and an obvious concern for the state of the world. She is eminently quotable."
-Cheratra Yaswen, Xtra West

Xtra West

"...Family Resemblances is a satisfying book..."
-Rebecca Wigod, Vancouver Sun

Vancouver Sun

"...Family Resemblances is a fun read, filled with passion and the joy and pain of everyday life."
-Karen X. Tulchinsky, Herizons

Herizons

"...If you like character - driven novels than this novel will certainly suffice. This is the Nanaimo born author's umpteenth novel, proving she knows her craft well."
-Monique Tamminga, The Langley Times

The Langley Times

"...Cameron is too good - note-perfect even - at evoking the unhappy stuff...Cameron's first loyalty is...to help with the healing, to help her readers and her characters feel better."
-Val Ross, Literary Review of Canada

Literary Review of Canada