Heather Mallett
VALIANT BE
This website was created on the unceded lands of the Anishinaabek, Ojibwe, and Odawa People. Valiant Be was written and edited on these lands and is published using paper from trees which were most likely grown on the lands of the Cree, Metis or West Coast First Nations.
May we walk together on this Earth with respect and peace.
VALIANT BE is a remarkable memoir of pain and resilience, and a gripping history of a family that is at once dysfunctional and deeply loving. Heather’s earliest memories revolved around her parents’ purchase and refurbishment of a gristmill beside the Don River, on the outskirts of Toronto. As World War 2 raged, so did tensions at home; Heather’s father was a passionate artist with a mercurial temper, and her mother was a writer who wrote and published a book about their marriage. Although Heather’s young life was chaotic, she learned resourcefulness from her parents, and never doubted their care.
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Then, at the age of four, Heather experienced a deeply traumatic incident that would change her forever and lead her to spend fifteen years in therapy for complex post-traumatic stress disorder. Still, her courage never wavered.
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Told through a series of vignettes, this vibrant collection of stories follows the author through childhood, university, marriage, mothering, teaching, and working as a calligrapher. Tender, revelatory, and always full of humour, this book is both a valuable time capsule and a fascinating look at how drastically the world can change in a single lifetime.
Heather Mallett’s first poem was published in a school yearbook when she was seven, and she has been writing ever since. A member of the Anglican Church and the Calligraphy Society of Ottawa, she is active in her community, and enjoys swimming, canoeing, paddle boarding, and creativity of all kinds. Heather is the author of a self-published collection of poetry and photography, REFLECTIONS (2015). She lives in Ottawa, Ontario, with her husband of sixty-one years and their puppy, Bella.
Valiant Be is available for sale on the FriesenPress Bookstore.
You can buy the book HERE!
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Books can also be purchased in Ottawa at Singing Pebble Books, Main Street
and at Perfect Books, Elgin Street, as well as on Amazon.
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eBooks available from Chapters and Apple Books.