Showing Be Still the Water by Karen Emilson

Shortlisted for the 2016 Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction

Canada-West - Best Regional Fiction
IPPY 2017 Silver Medalist

From the bestselling author of "Where Children Run" comes a smoldering tale, set in 1906 along the unspoiled shores of Lake Manitoba. "Be Still the Water" brings us into the fold of the Gudmundsson Family—immigrants determined to begin life anew in the Icelandic farming and fishing community of Siglunes. At the heart of the novel is dutiful Asta, the middle daughter who lives in the shadow of her siblings—fiery Signy, headstrong Leifur and sweet, naive Freyja. When Freyja goes missing, Asta embarks on a quest to bring her sister home. She tells the family’s story some seventy years later, while on her deathbed, finally discovering the truth of what happened on those fateful days that set the course for her life and the lives of everyone she loved.
Loosely inspired by area events, this is an emotional, slow-burning story of family love and sacrifice, of secrets revealed and promises broken—told in the spirit of the Icelandic Sagas.