Having been raised in an abusive home in northern England, Jancis M. Andrews ran away and was classified as a juvenile delinquent. At age 53, she gained a creative writing degree. Ten years later, her husband left her, refusing to pay alimony. After her life cascaded from the British Properties in West Vancouver to the mean streets of the Downtown Eastside, at age 65 she had to lie about her age to get a job as a cleaner in a boys' school in England. Now living in Sechelt at age 78, she has penned a bristling poetry-memoir about a fictionalized character named Mrs. S. who undergoes similar experiences. Jancis M. Andrews' angry and fascinating The Ballad of Mrs. Smith (Hedgerow $16) was nominated for the City of Vancouver Book Award. It brims with grit, anger and intelligence. 978-1-926618-01-2