BLOG | Shelly Sanders

The parallels between Stalin's Invasion of Latvia and Putin's Attack on Ukraine are Disturbing

Shelly Sanders

Oct 1, 2022
5 min

The parallels between Stalin's Invasion of Latvia and Putin's Attack on Ukraine are Disturbing

I had no inkling of what was to come when I began writing about the Soviet invasion of Latvia during WWII for my latest novel. It was...

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Shelly Sanders

May 12, 2022
6 min

FAMILY SECRETS ROOTED IN LATVIA

I decided it was time to investigate my Nana’s guarded past in 2017, when my son was exploring universities. She’d died when I...

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How Virtual Connections Improved My Focus

Shelly Sanders

Sep 29, 2020
5 min

How Virtual Connections Improved My Focus

As the idea of quarantine became a reality, I decided there was no choice but to embrace it. Make the most of my enforced time at home....

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Shelly Sanders

Jul 21, 2020
4 min

#VirtualTravelTuesday #JewishBookReview by Shelly Sanders

Jewish Heritage Travel: A Guide to Eastern Europe by Ruth Ellen Gruber Published by the National Geographic Society, 2007; 326 pages The...

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Shelly Sanders

Mar 19, 2020
3 min

On the fourth day of avoidance

At the beginning of a pestilence and when it ends, there's always a propensity for rhetoric. In the first case, habits have not yet been...

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Discovering my family's secret Jewish roots

Essay in Canadian Jewish News (August 29, 2019)

Nov 2, 2019
3 min

Discovering my family's secret Jewish roots

Though I’ve never lived in Montreal, it feels like home whenever I visit because it was a constant in my nomadic childhood. Both of my...

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Rachel's Secret Chosen as One of Nine Challenging YA Books Set Amidst War & Global Crisis

Shelly Sanders

Aug 1, 2019
1 min

Rachel's Secret Chosen as One of Nine Challenging YA Books Set Amidst War & Global Crisis

Rachel's Secret, inspired by the 1903 Kishinev Pogrom, is on Ezvid Wiki's list of 9 YA books set amid war & crisis

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July 4: The Day the Synagogues Burned in Riga, Latvia

Shelly Sanders

Jul 4, 2019
3 min

July 4: The Day the Synagogues Burned in Riga, Latvia

July 4 marks The Day of Remembrance in Riga, Latvia, where Holocaust survivors reunite to honour the victims of the synagogue burnings July

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Shelly Sanders

May 9, 2019
4 min

Tracking Soviet Spirits in Riga, Latvia

“In Soviet times, you could get arrested or shot for staring at this monument,” Liga, our lanky guide for the Soviet tour of Riga,...

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Shelly Sanders

Jan 2, 2019
2 min

Making & Breaking Resolutions

It’s the second day of 2019 and I haven’t been able to come up with any useful resolutions. When I look back on previous years, at...

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POLITICS & THE PRESS: The Challenges of Covering the Trump Administration

Shelly Sanders

Aug 16, 2018
4 min

POLITICS & THE PRESS: The Challenges of Covering the Trump Administration

My timing couldn’t have been better. I arrived on Martha’s Vineyard, with my husband and son, the day Islanders Write began. It’s a free...

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Shelly Sanders

Aug 13, 2018
3 min

GAMBLING ON A FAMILY VACATION

I should have known better. I should have known the odds of all three of our children materialising for a family vacation were around a...

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Shelly Sanders

Jun 16, 2018
7 min

A TUTORING TALE

The year my oldest daughter went away to university, I decided to become a volunteer tutor for at-risk kids, with the Halton Children’s...

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Shelly Sanders

Dec 7, 2017
2 min

Skipping Gifts

This year, we’re bucking tradition and going away for the holidays. It will be the first time in my life I’m not home, and even though...

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Four (Difficult) Steps to Better Writing

Shelly Sanders

Aug 23, 2017
4 min

Four (Difficult) Steps to Better Writing

Despite the glut of articles and on-line sites offering, “Tips for creating a bestselling series,” or, “How to write a bestseller in 30...

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