Memoirs of a Welfare Mother
Brenda Thompson wanted a quiet and productive life. Instead she ran into the chainsaw of bureaucracy. This is the story of how she managed to come out the other side, battered but not defeated. Follow her journey through poor choices to better ones, from struggling as a single parent to championing the rights of all women, from a contentious court case to a brighter and very productive life, from clerk to political candidate to university graduate to publisher.
reviewer comments
A hilarious, maddening, jaw-dropping read into the reality of what life was like on income assistance in Nova Scotia and Canada in the 80s for women and their children. It’s also a superb David and Goliath story, if David were a whip-sharp, funny as hell 23-year-old single mother taking on the Depart-ment of Community Services—and winning. A book for those who love it when truth is spoken to power.
—Jackie Torrens, writer/actor/film directorThis powerful, authentic account of what single mothers in Nova Scotia endured to access support will make your blood boil. When a system seemed determined to deny Brenda the means to raise her child, her letter to the daily paper—laying bare her reality—sparked outrage at the highest levels of government. How dare she speak the truth?
What unfolds is a gut-wrenching, deeply frustrating, and inspiring journey. Brenda’s story still resonates today, reveal-ing how difficult it can be to get ahead when those in power—and the systems they uphold—stand in the way. At great personal cost, she chose to stand up and fight back. A true hero!
—Ramona Jennex, Former NS cabinet ministerbook details
ISBN 978-1-997827-22-1
6x9 inch paperback, 231 pages
Ebook edition is available on most major platforms