The Young in One Another's Arms.

Britta Santowski is a freelance writer in Victoria, B.C.

Originally published in 1977, The Young in One Another’s Arms is about building communities. The novel is set in the Kitsilano community of Vancouver, and begins in a boarding house that is owned and run by Ruth, an independent middle-aged woman accustomed to tragedy in her own life. While she cares and nurtures the boarders in her house, she is also strangely answerable to her domineering and mostly absent husband, Hal. While Ruth owns the boarding house with full strength and success, her independence significantly wanes on the rare occasion that Hal comes home and starts barking out domestic commands and ordering the boarders about. Throughout the many trials and tribulations she encounters throughout this story, Ruth finds the necessary balance in her life to rebuild a community when her life in Kits is demolished. She also finds the strength to understand the deep relationship she and Hal have.

The novel won the Canadian Authors Association Best Novel of the Year Award in 1978. This new edition includes previous newspaper and magazine reviews, and some pages from draft manuscripts.

Jane Rule (March 28, 1931–November 27, 2007), received the Order of British Columbia (1998) and the Order of Canada (February 20, 2007). She is a well-known Canadian writer of lesbian-themed texts.