Valentina Gal

I am the blind daughter of Ukrainian immigrants who came to Canada in the early 1950s. I was educated at the Ontario School for the Blind in Brantford and graduated with my Masters from McMaster University. My stories are peopled with folks from a working-class neighborhood which was home to Displaced Persons who survived the Second World War. I write about interesting situations, both serious and funny that show the reader about how we learned to live together long before multi-culturalism was an everyday concept in Canada. I also included my experiences of being part of that world as a blind child. Altogether, it makes for an unusual mix of unique opportunities to show how people with adverse backgrounds and distinct personalities learn and grow together.