The Ancestors
From the Beginning
by Lorraine Hand

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A woman’s life often follows the timeless arc of the goddess: the maiden, the mother, and the crone—youthful aspirations, grounded by motherhood, then shaped into a wellspring of wisdom. This wisdom lives on through generations, carried in stories told, traditions honored, and visions remembered. As Mina lays on her death bed in her home in Saskatchewan, she is visited by visions of her ancient ancestors. Through them emerge the story of Wyndhu—a leader, seer, and warrior of the Pict clans. In the ancient Highlands of Scotland, warfare is constant. Vikings terrorize the land, and a new religion spread through Columba and his priests is threatening older ways of life. When Wyndhu’s clan loses sacred cattle to ritual theft, their beloved king is murdered and Grouch, his wife dies, she must lead a small band of warriors north in search of safety. With her people’s survival at stake, Wyndhu faces impossible choices. What must she sacrifice to protect her daughter and preserve her clan’s future? One thousand years later, Wyndhu’s descendent Mina is born into the nearly decimated clan in what is now known as the Ythan Valley. A servant of an English laird, Mina works beside her great-grandmother, a keeper of ancient clan wisdom, and quietly learns the old ways. Young and vulnerable, Mina bears two children out of wedlock and is cast out by society. Alone and desperate to provide for her children, she seizes a chance to travel to Canada—though heartbreakingly, she must leave them behind. What will the pain of separation and the leap into the unknown bring? Resembling oral history, The Ancestors is a richly layered tale spanning centuries, tracing one Scottish family’s journey from ancient Highland Scotland to early Canada. It is the story of two brave women who draw upon ancestral visions, inherited wisdom, and fierce survival instincts to lead their families towards a promised land.

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Lorraine Hand’s first literary work is inspired by her years growing up on the Canadian prairies hearing stories of the Highlanders and visiting the Pict stones. This labour of love pays homage to her ancestors and the tenacious spirit of her grandmother. Lorraine breathes life into the fortitude of her matriarchal lineage through her mythological retelling of her ancestors’ stories. Lorraine currently lives near her three children in Victoria, BC with her husband Chip, and still loves visiting the family farm.

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Lorraine Hand