Living on the Edge: The Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland

"Living on the edge" implies insecurity. On the surface, the people of the Great Northern Peninsula must be marginal Canadians for they live in an isolated area where incomes are low and unemployment high. So why do people stay? How do they cope with life on the margins of an advanced industrial society? The editors and the contributing anthropologists and sociologists try to answer these questions by looking at key attitudes and aspects of the social structure. In addition to analysis of the area's economic base in the fishery, this book deals with the informal economy, the division of labour in households, women's local political action, youth unemployment, and the complex and enduring strategies through which residents not only survive in this harsh environment, but create a relatively satisfying lifestyle.