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Beth Goobie

Beth Goobie was born in Guelph, Ontario in 1959. She studied and taught piano in high school and later moved to Holland to work as a nanny for a year. Moving then to Winnipeg, she studied English literature at the University of Winnipeg and religious studies at Mennonite Brethren Bible College. She worked with children who have been physically and sexually abused and is therefore interested in the issues of anger and powerlessness of young people.

Beth had a traumatic childhood that involved cults and emotional abuse. She repressed the memory of the trauma for many years until much later when they began to unravel in her mind. Through this unraveling she was able to access her own voice as a child and teenager. She credits this process to her ability to portray teens so well in her novels.

She began writing her first novel at the age of 30 when she had to stay home to recover after collapsing from chronic fatigue syndrome. That first book was Mission Impossible (1994), which is about a girl who wants to be a beauty pageant contest with unshaven legs. Most of her works take an unusual look at the human psyche and has some psychic elements. Because of this, many publishers have rejected her work. However, she remains as one of the most prolific and well-known writers in Canada.

Beth is very private about her current life even though she openly talks about her traumatic past. She prefers to write her books by hand and later transfer what she wrote on to the computer. TV and e-mails are a big no-no.

The message that she wants teens to take from her stories is that of self-love and self-trust. It is important to be an individual rather than to conform to societal expectations.


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