The Work of Her Hands: A Prairie Woman's Life in Remembrances and Recipes

The Work of Her Hands is Plynn Gutman's effort to capture the stories of her grandmother's life and to recreate a way of life that has all but vanished from our memories. Marie Anne Lacaille would have said she was an ordinary woman, but to her granddaughter and her family, she was an inspiration, the source of her family's strength and an incredible cook. From her move to Saskatchewan from Quebec in the early 1900s, to her raising a family through the 1930s, to her reinvention as a working woman in the 1950s, Marie Anne Lacaille lived her life with style, humour and an ability to create spectacular meals out of thin air.

Plynn Gutman left a career in the business world to follow her lifelong passion for writing. She received an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University and has been the director of the Young Adult Writing Project sponsored by the English Department of Arizona State University since 2007. Gutman also has taught writing classes and workshops in Canada, the US and the United Arab Emirates.