IN DECEMBER 2015, Natalie Jenner fulilled a lifelong dream of opening a bookstore. The charming 450-square-foot Archetype Books quickly became a ixture with readers in the small city of Oakville, Ontario, which had been without an indie bookseller since 2010. But less than a year later, Jenner’s husband was diagnosed with a serious hereditary disease. The shop became too much to handle on top of her familial responsibilities, and so Jenner closed her ledgling business.
Jenner, a human-resources consultant for the legal industry, describes herself as a social person. But the emotional upheaval of her husband’s ongoing health crisis took its toll, and she began seeking quiet introspection. “People will tell you that post-trauma you have to get to know yourself again, the new you, because you are changed by the experience,” says Jenner, who found solace by turning to her all-time favourite books.