Cover of The Ugly Place, by Laura Deal, illustrated by Emma Pedersen. I live in Iqaluit, Nunavut; currently, in a small satellite community, down a winding dirt road, called Apex. There aren’t a lot of roads in Iqaluit, in comparison to southern Canada, but I’d drive from one end of town to the other to visit one place in particular--that place on the beach that would later inspire my story. Let me just share with you that there’s something really special about this northern community--the land of the Nunavut Inuit. A strong sense of community surrounds us here, but that alone doesn’t always leave us invulnerable to more personal feelings of isolation. Almost daily, I walked my big sheepdog, Lottie. Just the two of us taking in the smells of the shoreline. On some visits, I’d sit in the vehicle alone and breathe, sip a hot drink, and sort out some thoughts. Sometimes, I cried if I needed to. I’d look out over the bay which seemed so still and quiet, even when the wind was so strong my vehicle would shake and rock from side to side. I’d go there, even if I had to lean into the rain as we walked (and re-walked) the length of the beach, knowing for certain it would take time to dry out my socks and mitts and one large stinky dog when I returned home. Most often, I’d go to collect sea glass (which I truly enjoy) until my pockets were full to the brim! The seasons eventually changed and the sand would then be covered over with snow, creating completely new scenery. In rain, snow, wind, and sun, and even hours after the sun had set, I would visit there. It was a moment I would take for me, and I always felt better for having gone there. It was my ugly place. Lottie. What I’d hoped to share by writing my story The Ugly Place (which, as I’ve said, is actually a very real place for me--a place I love, still), is that I understand how life can make us feel anxious and uneasy. It can challenge us until sometimes we feel like there’s seemingly no space left for our person. Children are no exception; they feel frustration, disappointment, confusion, and uncertainty just as much as the rest of us--maybe more so, since I like to think adults have learned a little more about the world around us over time.
A message that I think is worth sharing is that when life is hard and feels ugly, there’s a calm in nature reserved for all of us. It’s grounding. It spreads in all directions, especially here in the north. There’s always a little piece of earth that gives you just what you need, even if it takes a while to notice it. Lottie (RIP my good friend and ever loyal companion), those elements, the sound of the wind and waves, the beauty of the frozen sea ice, the crunch of the snow as my boots punched through on every other step, the northern lights above, the sun and wind on my face, and every piece of frosted glass I found on my summer walks (to my surprise) made up some sort of perfect and beautiful combination that got me through some really challenging times. So, I wrote The Ugly Place to encourage others (children and adults alike) to take some time to look for the same. That ugly place of mine was full of beauty and, no matter what I held in my heart or in my head at the time, that fact was always undeniable. There are three large jars of mostly green, turquoise, white, and brown glass that I have kept for years now at my home. I haven’t collected sea glass again since. It is now my complete collection, and a reminder to myself to get outside and just take it all in, whatever the natural environment has to offer. Sometimes it can be kind of magical. Laura Deal was born and raised in a small farming town in Nova Scotia. As a young adult, drawn to adventure, she climbed aboard an airplane for the first time ever and moved to Iqaluit, Nunavut. Laura immediately found appreciation for the culture, beauty of the land, and simplicity of northern life. Since 2005, she has rooted herself in the Canadian Arctic and started a family. Laura wrote her first book, How Nivi Got Her Names for her daughter, Niviaq, who was adopted through Inuit custom adoption. Her latest book (October 2022) is My Ittu, illustrated by Thamires Paredes. Comments are closed.
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