• Age: 13 to 17
• Grade: 8 to 12

The day of the annual fireworks, Gail’s mother tells her and her siblings that their father isn’t coming home. Gail deals with the news the only way she knows how: getting high with her friends. At fourteen her friends are more like family, and the pot helps take her mind off the fact that at home things are falling apart. She tries to ignore the rocks in her stomach, but that evening Gail’s emotions and confusion come to a head and she’s left facing the truth. With her father leaving her life is about to drastically change — for better or for worse.

Gail Lethbridge is an entrepreneur and freelance journalist who lives in Halifax and grew up in Dartmouth. She works full time at Welaptega Marine, a company she founded with her business partner in 1991 and writes a weekly opinion column for the Chronicle Herald. The mom of two children, she is also owned by two cats, Jazzy and Reggie. Gail’s novel, a finalist in the 2004 Atlantic Writer’s Competition for Unpublished Manuscripts, remains unpublished.

Gail Lethbridge's profile page