By Heather Goodman Lytwyn
Welcome Back to the Fall Session of the Icelandic Roots Book Club. Our first event will feature author Brian Borgford at 12:00 pm CST on Thursday, October 3rd. We will learn more about his books: Thorstein: Biography of an Icelander and Pepper. Please note this is a change of time, rather than that of our usual evening sessions.
Brian Borgford has lived the dream we all have of writing and publishing our stories and those of our ancestors. His career in business, finance, accounting and teaching spanned over 40 years, where he's lived in most parts of Canada as well as China and the Middle East. If you Google Brian’s name and look at the list of books he has published, you will be astonished at the number of publications completed in Kindle, paperback and hardcover. It is jaw dropping!
In October, we will focus on two of Brian’s books:
Pepper
Pepper is one of his most popular children’s books. It’s based on a true story that happened to him as a child. Their beloved dog went missing. Pepper comes home which is likely why it is one of his best selling children’s books. This story is probably reassuring to children and parents.
Thorsteinn: Biography of an Icelander
This biography, Thorsteinn: Biography of an Icelander, is based in part on a memoir written by Brian’s grandfather, and supported by Brian’s incredibly thorough research.
In the biography, we learn that Brian’s grandfather, Thorsteinn, was born on a small farm north of Reykjavík. Thorsteinn‘s family immigrated to Canada in 1886 when he was twelve. He began working that same year, and by nineteen years old was an accomplished foreman on construction sites.
Thorsteinn was a shareholder in and vice president of the J. McDiarmid Co. Ltd where he oversaw some of the most significant construction projects in western Canada. They were built to last over a hundred years, which they did! Those who have travelled to the western provinces will relate to bridges and buildings where he had been the director on-site during their creation. The speed and skill involved in many of these projects were fascinating and, even if you have never seen any of them in person, there are an abundance of photographs sprinkled throughout the book.
I found the biography very engaging because, throughout his illustrious career, Thorsteinn was involved in the construction of several projects which I am familiar with, such as the Legislative Building in Winnipeg. What impressed me the most was how smoothly Brian incorporated excerpts from newspapers to verify or dispute any facts that Thorsteinn’s memoirs recorded.
Although the book is focused on Thorsteinn's life and career, there is a depth of information about his wife Gudrun’s many accomplishments, and about their children, giving us an historical understanding of their challenges.
In the Forward by the Author, Brian wrote: “I began writing when my first grandchild was born in 2005. I decided to capture and document all of those short anecdotes about my childhood, about my father, about my sons and anything else that I could think of in order to create a history to pass on to my grandchildren.” (Thorsteinn, p.iv)
I hope by talking to Brian at our October book club, we will be inspired to write and research our stories in keeping with the goal of Icelandic Roots. We know most of us did not ask enough questions until it was too late. However, by following Brian’s example, putting words on paper and, even if we aren't publishing them in book form, our stories can be submitted to Icelandic Roots and recorded in IR database for posterity. The future generations will have a resource available to understand where their ancestors came from.
Both of Brian's books are available in book form on Amazon, and they are free on Kindle eBooks from September 23 to Sept 27:
Thorsteinn biography:
Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077L8YLNZ
Amazon Canada - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B077L8YLNZ
Pepper:
Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0088IKG7S
Amazon Canada - https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0088IKG7S
Editor's Note: A link to access the IR Book Club session will be sent to the Icelandic Roots members by email on Wednesday, October 2nd, the day prior to the Book Club event. If you would like to attend the Book Club but you aren't yet a member, please feel free to join Icelandic Roots. Click "Membership" to see the many options available. Hope to see you there!
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