END OF MARCH 2024
“What we call the beginning is often the end.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.” T.S. Eliot
The time has come – slowly at first and much more quickly recently, like life. My retirement is no longer news to most of you as I have been “practicing” for some time and Sara Strachan has become known as the new owner of Parry Sound Books – officially on 2 April 2024.
I am leaving the business I have built over 36 years in good hands, knowing that Sara, with her youthful energy, enthusiasm, and charm, will serve our customers well, taking Parry Sound Books into the future.
I have been asked what I will do – once I might have wondered that myself. I have always liked to be busy. Al Purdy once called me “an industry” when I arrived at the cottage after a day of work, loaded with provisions for a full house of family and friends, ready for fun. But that was a long time ago. Having waited long past the usual retirement age to retire, I am far less energetic, and don’t mind the thought of being less busy.
We will spend uninterrupted time at the cottage. My hour long commute, by boat to the marina and the drive down Highway 69, will happily be in the past. No more cold mornings on the water – as beautiful as they are. No more Friday evenings of defensive driving as others, desperate to get from the city to the bay, are driving as if life has no value.
At this age we are ready to be out of Canada for the three coldest months of winter – someplace relatively warm, on the water, where the fish is fresh from the sea. We know our lives are very privileged. For two kids with nothing, who met in 1971, we’ve worked hard, had a lot of fun and some luck, as well as loss, and we plan to go out as we came in. Living our lives without too much worry about the future.
I won’t miss being woken by an alarm clock. I will enjoy lingering over my morning coffee, and reading late into the night. I won’t miss social media. I will make a dent in the fabric I have amassed with some quilt making, and knit up the yarn. Re-read the books in my personal library. I’ll dig up plants along the highway for my cottage garden. I’ll clear out my basement. Sounds busy!
What I will miss most about leaving Parry Sound Books is you - my customers. Some of you I have come to know well, others I have served for over three decades and we may not know each other in any other way, but we have sometimes shared some important conversations, not only about books.
I know Sara will have your continued support for Parry Sound Books, and that you will show her the same loyalty you have shown me, and this business, over so many years.
My very best wishes to you all. Charlotte
Parry Sound Books will be closed from Thursday 28 March – Monday 1 April inclusive.
Reopening on Tuesday 2 April 2024