ABOUT THE BOOK
Dare to Dream, Joe Shore: A Memoir
Born into a dysfunctional family in Oakville, Ontario, in the 1950s, Jo-Anne Shaw was forced to leave home at sixteen to escape her abusive father. A high-school dropout, she would go on to endure two abusive marriages and years of serious depression. When she became a single mother of four, she knew something had to change for her children’s sake.
Defying all the odds, Shaw went back to school, got her Master of Social Work, and became a successful psychotherapist. Her past gave her the insight and compassion she needed to help others who suffered abuse and mental health challenges. By channeling her own pain, she could become a beacon of hope for those who were struggling. As a therapist, she could show women in abusive relationships that they could heal, leave their abusive partners, become financially independent, and finally be free. |
Dare to Dream, Joe Shore demonstrates how harmful patterns can be challenged, disrupted, and replaced with a healthier path to a brighter future. With humour and grace, Shaw tells her inspiring tale of resilience and survival, sharing how she navigated the challenges of those early years and finally attained her academic and career goals and the most elusive goal of all: happiness.
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Don't forget to leave a review on Amazon or in the Contact section below.
Thank you for your support!
BOOKSTORE
Dare to Dream, Joe Shore: A Memoir is Available Now at Most Major Online Book Retailers...
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jo-Anne Shaw
Jo-Anne Shaw is a psychotherapist with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and a Master of Social Work specializing in psychotherapy. She was also a Canadian Certified Counsellor and has worked at crisis centres for abused women and children.
She has always had an interest in writing, and she enjoys spending time with her young grandsons, as well as doing volunteer work, biking, reading, and travelling the world with her husband. Now retired, she lives in Bucerias, Mexico, with her husband and their little cockapoo, Nelson. |
CONTACT
Send a message, question, media enquiry, or book review directly to Jo-Anne below.
She would be pleased to add your reviews below.
She would be pleased to add your reviews below.
REVIEWS
BevAnne M:
Just finished reading it. Your life has been a great adventure and I think your story would make a great mini-series... I just couldn't put it down.
Larraine M:
Your book was riveting & heartbreaking. It is amazing that the fortune teller, Mrs. Wagg, said that you would have a wonderful future but you had to go through so much to get there. The reason your book had such an affect on me is that I can't relate in any way. We all have good & bad in our lives, but you just seemed to have bad for most of your life. To live it and then relive it by putting it on paper took so much courage. I have the greatest respect for you,
Karelyn MK:
... couldn't put it down - thanks so much for your candid sharing ... so very happy for you, Jo-Anne ... as I've been saying over & over for the last 10 years ... dreams really do come true !
Gwen B:
I am amazed--you have lived at least 5 lives in this lifetime. I am so glad that you have reached such a wonderful "place". What a tragic cycle domestic abuse takes. you are the "poster girl" for survivors of that terrible circumstance and what a role model for your children! Congratulations!
Valerie M:
I finished your book and I am gobsmacked! You are a remarkable, strong woman who rose above so many hard times and challenges to succeed and get the love you deserved.
Kay F:
I just finished your book. I love it and it was so good for me at this time. Thank you so much for taking that trip down memory lane for good and bad. We can all relate to things in our childhood and our adult lives which are similar to what you endured.
Betty M:
Finished your book. I loved it and felt bad for you, so glad you are happy now.
Faye H:
I loved your book from beginning to the end with all the pictures. I can picture in my mind some of your stories and the people.
Grant W:
Thank you for sharing yourself with the world. Choosing to write this and in the process relive the horrors of Joe Shore's mind took a lot of determination and fortitude. You are a survivor. In the process you have risen to the top of the humanity heap. A couple of times I had to take a break from the book. Some of the things you and your sister lived through got to me. I had to go back because if you could live and relive it, I could at least read your offering to support you if even a bit. Your command of the English language is amazing and made the reading of this book a lot easier. Thank you again.
Gerry M:
I did really enjoy your book. I also would be interested in reading anything else you might write. Thank you.
Sue S:
It was a great book to read. A page turner.
Susan M:
I have finished your book. What a read! The only thing I can say is that we go thru a lot of shit in our lives (maybe this helps us grow & learn), but it's nice to know that you ended up with who you should have.
Lyn W:
I really enjoyed it!
Friesen Press editor:
This is a moving and sometimes heart-wrenching memoir about the life of the author. It is a story of survival and resilience in the face of multiple abusive relationships, both at home growing up and as an adult in two abusive marriages. This autobiography showcases the challenging issues she overcame to ultimately raise her own family, to go from high-school dropout to earning a master’s degree, and to a successful career as a psychotherapist. The author tells her life’s story through humour and grace and occasional sorrow. Dare to Dream, Joe Shore, is a compelling memoir about an extraordinary woman living an ordinary yet inspiring life—a story that could be told by strong Canadian women around the country.
I came to most appreciate the challenges you faced growing up in a family struggling under the weight of parental dysfunction, embodied in the form of both emotional and physical abuse (from your father) and dysfunction (practised by your mother because of her wariness and almost fear of your father). You unfortunately faced similar challenges in relationships you had, including two abusive husbands. Your work successfully communicates the paths you followed to overcome those challenges with the support of friends, extended family, and persons important to you in your community.
I suggest that your story is one of an extraordinary woman leading an ordinary life. I mean that as a compliment. I believe that your story could be an inspiration to many extraordinary women around the country who have their own challenges and conflicts to overcome. This reality for so many Canadian women may be the most beneficial takeaway for potential readers of your book.
It would be a gross understatement to say that you have led an interesting and memorable life, with uniquely challenging surroundings and times. Instead, you successfully recall with equal parts humour, light-hearted storytelling, and vivid and heart-wrenching tones how you overcame personal hardships to achieve what for you is personal, maternal, and professional success. You make your life story and your personality come alive through the many engaging anecdotes you share and the detailed conversations you recall. Readers will get to know you well through the casual tone and the appropriate and light-hearted sense of humour that you use to relay your story. These both make the experience of reading your story more personal and enjoyable.
You also have a wonderful flair for weaving in nuggets of information about the culture and attitudes of the times you describe, which gives your story even wider appeal — because the challenging surroundings and times you lived through are sadly not unique. Many of your readers will have lived through sometimes unbearably challenging life experiences. For these potential readers, your book can serve as inspiration to move forward from their own challenges — whether they be sexual abuse, physical abuse, dealing with depression, immigrating to a non-native land, surviving systemic racism, and so much more.
Your book is also generally well-written. As noted above, you have a strong ability to weave dialogue into your narrative and use it well, both to more fully introduce the people in your life and to keep the narrative moving. Your manuscript also has a way of reflecting the beauty that you did see and experience during your journey, which readers will also appreciate — especially if they are struggling to find beauty in their own lives.
I also greatly appreciated the structure that you created for your book. The chapters are generally short and easily readable, almost serving as little anecdotes about the most memorable experiences of your life. The chapters are also intuitively titled—I love that every chapter starts with the simple, yet consistent “The”—so that readers who are not linear readers, that is, don’t always read a book from front to back, can navigate your book through its table of contents, finding a chapter title that looks interesting and jumping right in at that point.