Overview

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Canadian government advertised homesteading in the Canadian West as a means to a prosperous future. Free land? Who could resist? Never mind the land wasn't the government's to give away, homesteaders had strict and financially cumbersome terms to meet, the ""free"" land wasn't free, and the landscape lacked even the most basic infrastructure. Without knowing the hardships they'd experience, immigrants from Europe and the United States flooded Western Canada, often leaving their extended families and cultures behind. Author Brad Kuich often wondered why his own family endeavoured such a risky undertaking. Based on research and family stories, The Homesteaders answers this curiosity. It follows his paternal great-grandparents and grandparents from the 1860s in the Central Unites States to the 1960s in Western Canada. This biographical and historical novel reimagines their lives and the hardships they would've faced while homesteading. At a young age, Brad's grandfather Joe learned that while the lifestyle had its challenges, it also had many joys. It's this resilient spirit, passed down from his own ancestors, that helped Joe persevere against incredible adversity. Raw and candid, The Homesteaders is a glimpse into pivotal events in Canadian history, with some real characters along for the ride. It's a story of one man finding his purpose and connection in a challenging landscape.

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9781038351043

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Brad Kuich was born in Oyen, Alberta. His paternal grandparents, Mary and Joseph Kuich, homesteaded on the farmland that his parents farmed. Brad attended school in Oyen but was a farm kid influenced by a rural lifestyle and the hard work of farming. In 1975, he joined the RCMP, serving as a dog handler for most of his career in communities in British Columbia and Manitoba. Brad also assisted with many investigations within Western Canada, the Yukon, and northern Ontario. Many of his experiences are captured in his first book, Hag'em: Memoirs of a Police Dog Handler. Despite leaving his hometown at a young age, Brad remains connected to his roots. He kept his grandparents' homestead and often travels back to reminisce, especially about the challenges faced by his grandparents and other homesteaders who persevered to break the land in the early 1900s, transforming the prairies into the productive farmland that continues to grow food to this day. Brad retired from the RCMP in 1997. He lives in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia with his partner, Kathy. Together, they enjoy their children, grandchildren and border collie.

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