Journey with My Selves: A Memoir, 1909-1963

Description

222 pages
Contains Photos
$26.95
ISBN 0-88894-714-3
DDC C813'.54

Publisher

Year

1991

Contributor

Reviewed by Lori A. Dunn

Lori A. Dunn is an ESL teacher and editor of the Toronto women’s
magazine Feminie.

Review

In these pages, Livesay takes the reader on a journey through the making
of an artist’s psyche—she shares her life, from her childhood as the
eldest daughter of two journalists to her university year in France, her
political days in Montreal, her social activism in New York, and to her
work with UNESCO in Africa. Throughout, we enjoy her delight in words,
understand the inspirations for her poetry, share in her early despair
at the thought of never being a successful writer, and see through her
eyes the literary and dramatic communities in Canada during the first
half of the century.

This enchanting romp through Livesay’s world is startling in its
honesty. She spares no one, especially herself, as she recounts the
events, people, and places of the first five decades of her busy life.
With this integrity in mind, Livesay leaves off her account at 1963,
since from that point on the people in her life are “living, and still
vulnerable.”

As a chronicle of the development of a Canadian writer, poet,
traveller, teacher, and woman, Livesay’s memoirs are a satisfying
read.

Citation

Livesay, Dorothy., “Journey with My Selves: A Memoir, 1909-1963,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed February 7, 2025, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/11826.