The Stovepipe

Bonnie, age four, along with four of her siblings, was taken from her home in rural Canada and placed with the Children's Aid Society. Over the next fourteen years, the children are split up and reunited multiple times, always hoping to find one another again. By luck or providence, the four sisters spend the majority of their lives together working on a tobacco farm and living in an attic, where the stovepipe offers warmth, comfort, and news from the outside world. Surviving some of the worst torments a child can know, Bonnie and her sisters form an unbreakable bond. In an unflinching voice, Virag's memoir engrosses readers with not only the darkness that she endured but, more important, the siblings' ability to create a sense of light. This unforgettable story is informed by Bonnie's recollections, remembrances from her sisters, and the official records of the Children's Aid Society.