ESTEVAN - Marie Donais Calder hopes her story can be a reminder to people that they should never give up on their dream.
The Estevan author, who has penned 30 books, was at the Estevan Public Library on Saturday to reflect her experiences in the publishing world, with friends, family and interest onlookers in attendance. Included in her works are 25 historical fiction works through the Other Side series, chronicling her father Edmond Donais' experiences in Germany with the Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineers following the Second World War. The final book in the Other Side looks at his life upon returning to Canada.
She has also published Together Forever in the Clouds, which pays tribute to the 21 airmen who died in an airplane crash south of Estevan in September 1946, and several children's books.
Donais Calder's story is one of perseverance. She had to retire from teaching early because of her deteriorating eyesight.
"I was so lost for one whole month of September. I didn't know what to do with myself. My friend gave me the kick in the butt, and said 'Look Marie, you know you want to write about your dad. Get going,'" said Donais Calder. "And that's what happened. I thought I was writing one book, but as you can see, there are 25 of them."
If not for the opportunity to write, Donais Calder suspects she might have wallowed in the sorrows of her teaching career coming to an end.
"My eyesight has deteriorated since I started, which makes it even more challenging," said Donais Calder.
She has had a number of other physical setbacks in her life, but she overcame them to become an author.
"No matter what's happening in your life, there's always a reason for it, and when you look back on those experiences, hopefully you can see how it helps you grow," she said.
After the release of Together Forever in the Clouds in 2021, Donais Calder hasn't released any new works, but two new efforts are expected to be out this year. The first is another children's book, What can you do when you Live in a Shoe?
"It is a metaphor for life and all of the changes we face in life," she said. "I don't know about you, but I have found myself in many different shoes, with different things that have happened to me, with career changes, moves in location and all kinds of different things that have happened over the years. It's really about don't let yourself wallow when you have to change your shoe. Figure out how to make the best of that shoe."
The other is the first installment in her life story. She received a request from her publisher, Borealis Press, to share her story. The first book takes her from "sunshine to the darkness", she said, and ends with the death of her father when she was a child.
"I haven't even started the second book," she said. "I just find that I'm embroiled in those first 12 years."
For the first time, her publisher is working alongside Donais Calder on the book. She has had editors, typesetters and others who have helped her in the past.
"This is so deep and personal that he has suggestions. He has been reading it carefully and making notes, and he won't talk to me until he's completed it," said Donais Calder.
She is hopeful the children's book will be out in the fall, and she has been told the memoirs will be out this year as well.
