Bright's Crossing

Jean Free, a library consultant, was an elementary-school teacher and
librarian in Whitby, Ontario.

Bright’s Crossing is a collection of short stories about 11 women who
live in the Vancouver Island town of that name. California Murphy is a
computer expert who manages to become a multimillionaire as a result of
her technical expertise. Pat Fleming is an abused wife who has left her
violent husband and made a new life. Louella lives with Dave and his
children in a trailer camp; when Dave dies she has to cope with his two
adolescent daughters. Cheryl and Fred have a trucking business, with
Cheryl doing most of the work. When her husband lets her down in a
tragic situation, Cheryl gets enough courage to take the children and
leave.

Cameron writes passionately about strong women who are survivors. She
has a good ear for colloquial dialect and is a careful observer of
small-town life. Her female characters are seeking a better life for
themselves and their children. In her short stories, Cameron addresses
such universal problems as low pay, violence, inequality of opportunity,
and unfair division of home responsibilities.

Cameron is the award-winning author of Dreamspeaker and Earth Witch as
well as a variety of poems, dramas, and short stories. Bright’s
Crossing would be an excellent book to address the dearth of strong
female protagonists in secondary and university literature courses, and
would make interesting fictional reading for adults of either sex.