Don Deveau: a Canadian author who writes contemporary mainstream novels.

I am a Canadian author. My roots are in Nova Scotia. I was born in the 1950s and grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, part of a generation shaped by major cultural upheavals and profound changes. "Sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll" became the hallmark of my generation, succinctly summing up what was essentially a revolution sexually, musically, and culturally. Its symbols included the Beatles, free love and Woodstock, Eastern mysticism and hippies, all wrapped up in a smoky haze from the local bud.

On a darker note, the Cold War was a cold reality with the threat of nuclear annihilation. Then there was the Vietnam War. As Canadian youth, we considered ourselves lucky, but we were not immune to the nightly news broadcasts of the carnage on a daily basis. The anti-war demonstrations as well as the civil rights movement, along with the police brutality to suppress these, also made the 1960s a tumultuous decade.

At the time, the Vietnam draft loomed large in the lives of a whole generation of America’s youth. Its dark shadow touched almost every family, exacting unimaginable sacrifices. It also tore the nation apart, creating rifts that would take generations to heal. Canada became a safe haven for those young people who could not or would not submit themselves to what they considered an unjust war and an unfair draft. Nova Scotia became such a haven to many of them, and more than a few came to call it home.

This sets the stage for my first novel, A Time for Charity, a coming of age story that will take you back to the sixties, when a young man comes face to face with impossible choices. Perhaps, if your nineteenth birthday included such gifts as news of your best friend’s death and a notice to report to your local draft board, you might have made the same decisions as David. Read more about A Time for Charity.