E.C. MAENPAA, LIFE OF A WRITER

For every woman who has ever journeyed to find themselves, we emerge in a place like the understory; those layers within a forest between the soil and the sky.  It may be difficult to reach the light in this place. What lies here can either give us strength or devour us.
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-Cora Buchanan

This story follows Cora Brochan's journey as she attempts to recall events from her childhood. Set in the Fraser Valley, I found myself immersed in the familiar landscape of my own backyard. The suppressed and haunting secret buried in Cora's past unlocks the path to her future. As a mother and wife myself, I find the struggles that Cora lives through to be relatable and real.

Upon finishing "What Lies in the Understory," I was left with the sense that this is not the end. Not only did I desire more, but I also felt that this sparked the beginning of my journey. It has pushed me to explore my “understory” and empowered me to dig deep within myself – my triggers, my emotions, my joys.

Elizabeth Maenpaa is not only a lifelong learner, but also a lifelong writer.  She discovered her passion for writing at an early age. It was a creative writing course that officially ignited the inception of her first novella, "What Lies in the Understory." It is a work of 
fiction and imagination, but you cannot help but see glimpses of Elizabeth’s experiences and her memory of the story of the Wild Woman of the Woods, a supernatural being, in her work. She attributes her writing career inspiration to Lee Maracle, an Indigenous Canadian writer and academic from the Stó꞉lō nation, as well as to Andrea MacPherson, a Canadian poet and writer.

Elizabeth grew up in Port Hardy and planted her roots here in Mission in 2002. She has a degree in Child and Youth Care from the University of the Fraser Valley with additional courses in Creative Writing, Literary Journalism, Indigenous literature, and a Bachelor of Education from Vancouver Island University. Currently, she fosters her love for writing as a middle school English teacher in Mission.

This may be Elizabeth’s first published work of fiction, but it certainly won’t be her last. "What Lies in the Understory" is available for purchase at Totally BOOK-ish at The Junction and on Amazon.ca.

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