Ruby Johnson

Description

Ruby Johnson is a North End woman in 1950s Halifax. She was born in the same building she still lives in and enjoys her work as a waitress at the Zellers lunch counter. She doesn’t have much, but she doesn’t need much. Her life has not been easy. She grew up with a loving but unreliable father who spent time in the penitentiary. Her mother worked hard, but times were lean and Ruby went to work at fifteen to ensure the family could eat.

Now, as an adult, Ruby has her friends, her guild, her church, and her job, and her desires are modest. She loves her community, and her friends Irene, Dot, and Donna are supportive and caring, even if her cousin Edith is not. But Ruby’s marriage to the shiftless Richard is not a happy one, and she grieves even as she stands by him. But then one night a knock comes at her door, and Ruby’s ordinary life is forever altered. Her cousin exhorts her to take advantage of her new financial circumstances, which is exactly what Ruby does ? but in ways that are surprising and completely unexpected. With the new Angus L. Macdonald Bridge as a backdrop to Halifax’s postwar prosperity and a symbol of the path between the past and the future, Ruby takes charge of her own life. Her story includes a lively cast of characters, as only Bruce Graham can create.

Additional information