Slice of Life Series

It's two a.m. and you've got a crying child and you know you'll never remember this five years from now, but tonight it's all there is. It's two p.m. and the kids have covered themselves - outside and in! - with petroleum jelly, in just under thirty seconds. You know this could never happen to anyone else. Could it? No Parent Is An Island explores those moments when life becomes ... an adventure! For author Paula Johanson, it has been an adventure complicated by twins, a farm, and a partner with an overdeveloped sense of humour. To say nothing of pigs, splendid isolation, and forgotten territory.   As Paula writes: Sometimes all it takes is a single lyric, like the Travelling Willburys singing "I've been robbed and ridiculed/ in daycare centres and night schools/ handle me with care" to get people in daycare centres and night schools across a continent singing bits of a song, all that season, while rocking their kids.   Doublejoy Books is pleased to present this new edition of No Parent Is An Island, a celebrated book that is now the first book in the Slice of Life series by Paula Johanson. Look for the sequel Working Parent with more family stories! The series goes on with Under The Plow, a collection of Johanson's popular op-ed columns for a rural newspaper.   "Paula Johanson chronicles the adventure of parenthood with wry wit and ironic accuracy." - Jim Holland, editor, Island Parent magazine   "I thoroughly enjoyed reading Paula's insight into parenting. I laughed (to tears) along with her at the antics of her children (and husband) and found myself nodding agreement over life's trials. Paula has found a way to survive with a smile. This book is a very pleasant reminder that children are fun, even when they challenge us to the Moon." - Christine Stusek, mother of three, artist, daycare provider   "This book helped me stay sane when my kids were small. It's just the right size to keep in the bathroom." - eager fan who bought two more autographed copies to give her friends

Looking for real life stories? You'll find them here. Working Parent continues the adventures of two writers raising gifted twins, that began in the popular book No Parent Is An Island. On the farm or bouncing like ping-pong balls in Grandma's basement, this family is always busy. Author Paula Johanson has calluses from farming and from writing these stories and a stack of nonfiction books.   As Paula writes: "After reading a review of notebook computers, I knew I wanted the portable qualities of a notebook. So I bought one. Spiral bound, five subject dividers and lined paper. I can even take it to the pool and write fiction or reviews while my kids take swimming lessons. It works. So do I."   Doublejoy Books is pleased to present his book as a long-awaited sequel to No Parent Is An Island, by popular request. Working Parent is the second book in the series Slice of Life. The series goes on with Under The Plow, a collection of Johanson's popular op-ed columns for a rural newspaper.   "Paula Johanson chronicles the adventure of parenthood with wry wit and ironic accuracy." - Jim Holland, editor, Island Parent magazine

Real life stories can tell who you are, and where you are, and sometimes whether anyone else is like you. Here in Under the Plow, there's a lot you'll recognize about home and neighbours or family and gardening, in these real life stories by writer Paula Johanson.   Look here for insights into city folk and country living, as when Paula writes of learning to be both a writer and a farmer, and how can anyone find their way in this part of the world. "Houses out here don't have numbers by the front doors. Houses out here don't even have stairs by the front door. Some of our neighbours don't even have front doors at all, just a place where a front door will be put some day. Our little white house is the only house out here where the front door gets used. It's the only door we have. But then we're odd. Our neighbours are sure we're odd because we use our front door and didn't use to have a phone."   Under The Plow is a collection of Op-Ed columns written for a weekly rural newspaper in Sturgeon County, Alberta. Doublejoy Books is proud to release this book as the third title in the Slice of Life series. As a sequel to No Parent Is An Island and Working Parent, this book brings the family and writing stories into their prime. If you like the humour and storytelling of Hannah Gadsby, then Under The Plow will keep you reading.   "Paula Johanson chronicles the adventure of parenthood with wry wit and ironic accuracy." - Jim Holland, editor, Island Parent magazine

A full length Slice of Life Novel. Grayson Broche led a simple life and was a man of refined taste. At the end of the day, he wanted to come home to his wife, his children and his dog. Currently, he had none of those things. The closest he had come to a stable relationship was his ten year friendship with his best friend, Charlize. Dr. Charlize Filleman was a busy woman with no time for men with no ambition or jokers who wanted to ride her coat tail. Her last date was three years ago and she was fine with that! The closest thing she had to a relationship was a weekly cooking date with her best friend Grayson, whose luck with love had also run short. Grayson proposed a plan to add a few additions to the friendship as they worked on her new cookbook. Adding in a pinch of reasoning, a dab of logic and stirring in some spice, these two to create a great recipe for an ideal relationship. And that is why Grayson Broche proposed they become friends with benefits.