Reviews "Instead of employing flashy prose, [Walters] relies on craft, intelligence and heartfelt emotion. The Woman Upstairs overflows with humanity, a staple of fiction that never passes out of style." - Winnipeg Free Press "It is an absorbing and well-crafted book, a broody mystery, a puzzle whose closely interlocking pieces are tossed out, flash-back style, at just about the perfect pace for the reader." - Alberta Report "With this novel [Walters] has served notice that she has the fictional techniques to make a significant contribution." - Calgary Herald (These reviews refer to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.) Product Description Diana Guthrie is a young woman struggling between her sense of what she "ought" to do and her need to believe she is more than a puppet manipulated by other people. When she learns that her powerful and controlling mother-whom she hasn't seen in 15 years-is dying, she hurries back to her childhood home. There she is faced with memories and conflicts that threaten to prevent her from climbing the stairs that will take her to her mother's bedside. Will she find the courage to face her mother before it is too late? Winner of a Writers Guild of Alberta Award for Excellence in Writing, The Woman Upstairs was published to widespread acclaim in 1989 by NeWest Press but quickly sold out and remained out of print for more than two decades. During that time, Mary W. Walters (who began her writing career as Mary Walters Riskin) published a second novel (Bitters, NeWest Press), a collection of short stories (Cool, River Books), and a book of non-fiction (Write An Effective Funding Application: A Guide for Researchers and Scholars, The Johns Hopkins University Press), as well as dozens of articles and short stories. This new edition of The Woman Upstairs will be welcomed by Walters' long-time readers, as well as by new fans of her work.
About the Author: Mary W. Walters lives in Toronto where she works as a writer and as a freelance editor and writing coach, primarily with academics who are preparing journal articles and grant applications. She also speaks to scholarly groups about writing effective funding applications. Walters has published three books of fiction (The Woman Upstairs, Bitters, and Cool), and one book of non-fiction (Write an effective funding application: a guide for researchers and scholars). Her web address is www.marywwalters.com