The Boarding School at the End of the Dirt Road

A father sends his two teenage boys to a boarding school in Saskatchewan after their mom dies. The brothers must readjust to a more arduous and demanding lifestyle.
Mike, the older brother, is a ‘nervous nelly’ who desperately tries to fit in. In addition, he believes he must protect his younger brother who will never fit in and who never tries to do so.
Clifford is a geek with a strong independent streak. He does not concern himself with social graces. He is more interested in discovering the mysteries of the world.
Mike was created to portray the author’s own year at a Saskatchewan boarding school complete with his private fears and challenges. His personal endeavours to fit in and take advantage of the opportunities the school offered are recalled. He feared bucking the school’s Old Boy system and standing up to those who exploited it for their own comfort and feelings of superiority. The physical intimidation caused him and the other New Boys great consternation.
Clifford, the younger brother, establishes that being tough does not mean being physically tougher than others. He is a fierce-minded new boy. He has the fortitude to be himself and face the school’s hardships. He adapts to life there and grows into his own. The author created Clifford to reveal how he wished he would have responded and used his voice to stand up for himself and others.
When the author returned home to Ottawa, he never wanted to visit Saskatchewan again. After three years of pondering his reasons for being, he returned to Saskatchewan where he met his future wife, stayed, and raised a family. Over the years, opportunities arose to return to Ottawa; those opportunities were declined. The author explains, “I turned these down. I recognized I would miss the beauty of the vast open prairie, the living skies, and the brisk weather. My friends are here. Saskatchewan is where I will rest in peace.”
The book recreates various events, locales, and conversations from memories of a year at Athol Murray’s Notre Dame College at Wilcox, Saskatchewan. The characters are products of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously. All character names and nicknames are made up to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent.