Abstract

Set in a handful of locations across Southern Ontario, the following stories trace the development of the Meyers family from childhood until the death of the family matriarch, Beverley Meyers, who passes away after suffering from Alzheimer’s for over a decade. Spread from 1969 until 2023, these stories begin with the Meyerses in their hometown of Woodstock and end with Beverley’s burial in Mississauga. Although the collection’s overarching subjects—the growing decentralization of the Meyers family, the indignity of death and dying, and the cruelty of siblings—are unhappy ones, the collection is comic in tone. For example, while Mrs. Meyers’ cognitive decline is difficult for her and her family, her new-found obsession with traffic laws and unsuppressed temper allows readers to appreciate the ridiculousness of her situation.
Naturally, these stories are drawn from real-life experience, however I have also taken influence from Stuart McLean’s The Vinyl Cafe, and Diane Schoemperlen’s “Railroading: Or Twelve Stories with the Word Train in the Title.”