ABSTRACT
It is a rainy February day in 1996 when a small group of graduate student friends gather in the Ponderosa cafeteria (now defunct) at the University of British Columbia to compare stories about working within university constraints while trying to do different forms of research in their dissertations. Sandie (Sandra) has asked for this coffee time because she plans to make a proposal. In attendance are Garold Murray, Erika Hasebe-Ludt, Renee Norman, and Sandie Kouritzin, doctoral students in Language and Literacy Education. If we lean forward and listen carefully, maybe we can overhear. Sandie, five months pregnant and still suffering from morning sickness, miserably trying to choke down a cup of tea with lots of milk and sugar, suggests, “we should put together a book about our experiences, a guidebook for people who are trying to do things differently, a book of stories.” Renee, the voice of wisdom, responds, “maybe we should get through the process ourselves first.” It is agreed that this is a conversation that needs to continue.
