We Live in the Shadows

I was surprised at myself. For a relatively short book (112 pages) I was a bit taken back by how long it actually took me to read it. It isn't that it's uninteresting or poorly written. It was neither. Well written and articulating various homeless people's stories, essentially becoming a voice for the voiceless. It is not a book meant to be entertaining. It is not about you. It is not for your pleasure. I'll be honest: It is a short yet difficult read. Difficult because these are not fictions. These are real people's stories. Difficult because some stories touch us too. Difficult because we all too often are uncomfortable when we're confronted with the plight of others. We need to see the darkness, the hopelessness before we can see the light and embrace Hope. But this is the heart of compassion, something I fear our society is sore need of. Something that - as I get the privilege to know Brigitte better and better - she has an ample supply of. Compassion isn't sympathy or pity. Compassion has legs. Compassion does something - it takes action. It owns the issues that confront it. It does not sit idly by and do nothing. It would be a severe understatement to call Brigitte Lord simply a writer; only an author. An activist for Ottawa's homeless, she does not just write about these people, she doesn't simply reports their stories. She knows these people. She engages them, speaks with them, her outreach brings them food, conversation and I would like to believe, succour.

All the proceeds and profits of this book's sales go to support various charities for the homeless. Acknowledged by Mayor Jim Watson for her work, Brigitte is truly passionate and driven. I found "We Live in the Shadows" is a strangely horrible and beautifully enlightening dichotomy of a book. It bring the darkness that has been forgotten and abandoned onto the light of day. But on the very same note, it also gives me a great sense of hope in humanity. Difficult to rate this book, because let's be honest, it is not a stand-alone book. It is only one small piece of a much larger endeavour. It transcends a typical book's ratings. It warms my heart to not only see Ottawa's local literary talent succeed, but to lift up and better our wonderful city, and Brigitte Lord, through "We Live in the Shadows" does exactly this.