New book hopes to highlight some of Halifax’s most amazing women

A new book hopes to shine a light on just a few of the many overlooked female pioneers in the Atlantic provinces.

Amazing Atlantic Canadian Women: Fascinating Stories of Excellence and Determination is an exciting exploration of incredible women from the region who have contributed in various ways throughout the ages.

From Isabel Janet Macneill, who was the first female commander of a ship in the British Commonwealth, to three-time Olympic gymnast and multiple medallist Ellie Black, Halifax is well represented in the 160-page paperback aimed primarily at middle-grade readers.

“We really wanted any kid who picks up this book to see some reflection of themselves in a way that wasn’t othering, in a way that was truly inclusive to the very best of our abilities,” says former CBC radio host and award-winning novelist Stephanie Domet, who co-wrote Amazing Atlantic Canadian Women with accomplished ghostwriter and editor Penelope Jackson.

The third installment in a celebrated illustrated series (which also includes previously published Amazing Atlantic Canadian Kids and Amazing Black Atlantic Canadians), the two authors were first approached by Nimbus Publishing to tackle the collection of stories about female trailblazers in 2018.

“It should have come out in 2019 or early 2020 and in fact, everything got backed up for Nimbus,” says Jackson, noting that the pandemic slowed the writing and publishing of the book until late 2021. “But there was [also] a really long time that we spent making a list — months and months of researching — and then the writing itself took about a year.”

Writing over the course of the pandemic also allowed Jackson and Domet to convince Nimbus to allow them to stretch the book from 50 personalities to covering 74 women from as far back as the 18th century.

“Because we were balancing four provinces, we wanted it to be very representative across different fields which meant learning a whole bunch about sports and business which neither of us knew,” says Jackson. “We wanted to make sure we were being regionally responsible and in terms of abilities, [so] if you try to cram it into 50 people, you’re just frantically ticking off boxes, and that’s a gruesome way to collect amazing women.”

As such, the book was able to cover an admirable amount of inspiring personalities — particularly regional women that are less likely to be known.  Divided into five categories, the book covers trailblazers that have made astonishing accomplishments or pioneering efforts in everything from sports to politics to community and education.

“We also knew that we wanted to make some awesome sidebars [because] we are not historians or researchers so we were having to contextualize people’s lives,” adds Jackson. “Is it remarkable for a woman in the 1800s to go to New York and teach art? It turns out yes, [so] we wanted to make sure that the book taught the kids as much as it taught us.”

In addition to the previously named personalities, Amazing Atlantic Canadian Women also features such local luminaries as Halifax musician Faith Nolan, basket weaver Edith Clayton, artist Marie Webb, food writer Marie Nightingale, community activist Yvonne Atwell and even young solar pasteurization innovator Rachel Brouwer.

“Rachel Brouwer is a kid I interviewed when I was at CBC and she always stuck out in my mind as just a real bright light, a kid who designed a thing for her science fair that has turned out to be hugely useful elsewhere,” says Domet of the Bedford student who invented an affordable filtration system to help millions of people access clean drinking water. “She’s a great young scientist.”

All 74 women in the book will surely inspire readers and showcase the incredible strides that Maritime matriarchs have made over the years. As Domet and Jackson have pointed out, there is much to be learned by looking back at the adversity overcome as well as the courage and bravery of Amazing Atlantic Canadian Women.

“I think one thing that comes up a lot in this series is this idea of firsts and we think about the accolades of it but at certain points, anyone just trying to be a doctor [or] all of those firsts faced so much difficulty,” says Jackson. “Just existing and doing the work that they wanted to do involved so much effort and it makes it so amazing.”

For more information on Amazing Atlantic Canadian Women, visit the website.