Dear Sad Goat: A Roundup of Truly Canadian Tales and Letters

Debbie Feisst is the reference/Internet resources librarian in the
Information Services Division of the Edmonton Public Library.

Since 1997, Bill Richardson has hosted CBC’s afternoon radio program
Richardson’s Roundup. Listeners may write or call in to a toll-free
line—1–888-RADIO 2 U or 1–888-723-4628—to share their comments
and personal stories. Richardson discovered that the numbers also
spelled “SAD GOAT,” and the cult status of the program was quickly
established with over a million listeners each week. The program is now
known by many simply as “Sad Goat.”

Dear Sad Goat is a collection of 163 letters, the most memorable of
those sent in to Richardson by listeners from all over Canada. The
authors represent many ages, nationalities, and backgrounds. The
stories, mainly about domestic or even mundane events, are surprisingly
well told. They are also funny, sentimental, many times touching, and
cover just about every subject from birth to death and everything in
between. Richardson has organized them thematically into six parts, each
part with its own introduction. The collection makes for perfect bedtime
reading. The table of contents suggests that an index of authors appears
on page 201, but the book ends on page 200. A joke, perhaps, to get our
goat?

Richardson’s first novel, Bachelor Brothers’ Bed and Breakfast, won
the 1994 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.