June 2021 eUpdate - With all the time we've gained this year, have you enjoyed a few good books? Many have read vociferously during COVID while other have found it unusually difficult to really get into a good read. We are sharing our favorite books to inspire your 2021 summer reading list.
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Smith Falconer Financial Group

June 2021 eUpdate


What Is The Team Reading?

With all the time we've gained this year, have you enjoyed a few good books? Many have read vociferously during COVID, while others have found it unusually difficult to really get into a good read. We are sharing our favorite books to inspire your 2021 summer reading list.

A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson

Lois Smith
A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson
Photo credit: Goodreads.com

A Town Called Solace, the fourth novel by Mary Lawson is a pleasant story that we can truly appreciate in our current times.

The setting is a small town in Northern Ontario. It is 1972, seven-year-old Clara's teenaged sister runs away from home. A strange man, Liam, appears to be living next door in the home of Mrs. Orchard who has asked "dear Clara" to take care of her cat while she is in the hospital for a "short stay". We learn how these lives are connected, without them understanding it. We learn of tragic pasts, love, remorse, grief and families, both the one you are born into and the ones you aren't.

Just as in her other novels, Mary Lawson's experience of growing up in small town Ontario comes through brilliantly. She makes the mundane remarkable, you disappear into the charming characters through authentic dialogue and locales. After an hour of reading it, you might look up and wonder "where am I?"



Trailblazer by Marc Benioff

Rodney Falconer
Trailblazer by Marc Benioff
Photo Credit: Goodreads.com

I am sure we have all heard about someone, or we have seen someone, who has become incredibly successful and that same person becomes a person who is completely different before their success, and usually not for the better. The book Trailblazer does not share with us how to build one of the most successful companies to ever exist. But what the book does is share how one individual can make such a positive change in this world if he/she is motivated to do so. The book also shares how one can create a work environment that people want to be a part of and never want to leave!



Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Lira Lamaca
Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
Photo credit: Goodreads.com

This is a true story of Bryan Stevenson, lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. He has dedicated his life to being an advocate for marginalized people who have been falsely accused, convicted or harshly convicted. Just Mercy follows Walter McMillan a black man in Alabama who is disgraced for having an affair with a white woman. Around the same time, another white woman is murdered, and a chain of events (racist Sheriff, suppressed evidence and bribed witnesses) leads to Walter being wrongfully accused and sentenced to death. While on death row, Bryan Stevenson takes over Walter's case and proves his innocence 6 years later. Through his Equal Justice Initiative, Bryan has saved over 125 people from death row. Both disturbing and truly inspiring. I look forward to watching the movie adaptation.



Atomic Habits by James Clear

Meredith Mercer
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Photo credit: Goodreads.com

I was introduced to this book 13 months into my work-from-home experience. While the ideas in this book would have been very helpful in April 2020 to curb some bad habits that crept up on me, I am choosing the philosophy that there is no better time to start on productive routines than today!

The lessons provided by the author, James Clear, are simple and easily incorporated into daily life. Small changes consistently practiced can have significant impact over time. My favourite chapter is #12: Law of Least Effort. This might sound surprising coming from someone who climbs mountains for recreation, but I am passionate about efficiency. By creating a repeatable process for a "simple" task, I can free up energy and willpower for the more difficult tasks. "The difference between a good day and a bad day is often a few productive and healthy choices made at decisive moments."~ James Clear



The Push by Ashley Audrain

Angela Dang
The Push by Ashley Audrain
Photo Credit: Goodreads.com

Parenthood is one of the most challenging experiences in life. The Push a novel that will challenge everything you think you know about motherhood and how mothers really feel toward children who are difficult to manage.

The Push opens with Blythe imagining her own daughter's perfect life. Blythe does not have a loving and supportive mother, so she tries desperately to be a perfect mother. As she experiences pregnancy and motherhood for the first time, she realizes reality does not live up to her expectations. She finds herself struggling when she is unable to form any connection with her daughter Violet. She is convinced that something is wrong with her daughter. As Violet grows, the little girl is distant, rejects affection and becomes increasingly disruptive at preschool. Becoming a new mother recently gave me a different understanding of the themes from this book.



Very best regards,


The Smith Falconer Financial Group
CIBC Wood Gundy


Lois, Rodney, Lira, Meredith and Sarah


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Smith Falconer Financial Group


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