Praise

Easily one of the most impressive family memoirs ever written about a B.C. working class family…Theirs is an epic tale of perseverance, superbly told, as a celebration of dignity.

– ABC Bookworld

Howard’s story is valuable and often untold, and her objective storytelling–in which she often removes herself entirely from the narrative, even though she lived through the same events–is a refreshing departure from the self-centered account most memoirs provide.

– Feminist Review

A stunningly vivid and in-depth family history that doubles as progressive labour history.

– BC Bookworld

It is migration history, labour history, women’s history, and family history woven into one story…This engaging tale is written with an ironic, low-keyed humour that demonstrates Howard’s deep affection for workers who often lost limbs and lives in building this province, and it will be useful to anyone who seeks a better understanding of British Columbia’s rich working-class history.

– BC Studies

I read this book and I was just simply thrilled. I have a PhD in literature and I’ve seldom, if ever, read a book that strikes me as so real and literary. It made me think in some ways of Angela’s Ashes.

– David Tacium, CKUT 90.3 FM (Montreal)

One of the best books I’ve read this year by far.

– Alan Twigg, CBC’s North By Northwest

One of the best books I’ve read this year by far.

– Alan Twigg, CBC’s North By Northwest

In Gold Dust on His Shirt, Irene Howard tells a family story of passion, industry, sacrifice, and love which will resonate for many Canadians. Her Scandinavian immigrants are well worth knowing. Once again, she has enriched the scholarship on Canada’s working people.

– Veronica Strong-Boag, former President of the Canadian Historical Association and Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

Alfred and Ingeborg Nelson were never famous, but now their daughter Irene Howard makes them so, and they deserve it. Memoir, family history, immigration story, Gold Dust on His Shirt explores the life of one family among tens of thousands in twentieth-century British Columbia. “Toil…a life of unremitting toil,” was their own brief history of themselves, but with care, wisdom, and compassion, Irene Howard shows us much more than that.

– Christopher Moore, historian, journalist, and author of numerous titles of Canadian history, including Canada: Our Century and The Story of Canada

I read this book and I was just simply thrilled. I have a PhD in literature and I’ve seldom, if ever, read a book that strikes me as so real and literary. It made me think in some ways of Angela’s Ashes.

– David Tacium on CKUT 90.3 FM (Montreal)

I couldn’t put it down. It took me back to my time in mining camps listening to the old miners tell their stories. This compelling and intimate story of the hard work, struggle, and exploitation experienced by an honest, hard-working immigrant family is the real history of the mining industry in Canada. The sacrifices these men and women made have never been adequately recognized, and it confirms for me once again why I do what I do.

– Ken Georgetti, President, Canadian Labour Congress

One of the best books I’ve read this year by far.

– Alan Twigg on CBC’s North By Northwest