Musician Jeremy Drury felt a universal connection to Buffy Sainte-Marie after reading this book
Ontario-raised singer-songwriter and percussionist Jeremy Drury is a two-time Juno Award winner as a member of rock band The Strumbellas. In 2020, he released a solo album titled Company Store, a project where he not only wrote the songs for the album, he plays almost all the instruments as well.
Drury connected with The Next Chapter to discuss the book he's currently reading and loving: Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography by writer and CBC Music producer Andrea Warner.
"I'm currently reading the authorized biography of Buffy Sainte-Marie by Andrea Warner. I'm finding it really interesting to hear the story of Buffy Sainte-Marie, not only from the perspective of her being a musician and a songwriter, but also that of being an Indigenous activist.
"You're getting two stories at once, and they parallel each other quite nicely, as a lot of her experiences obviously do come out in her songwriting.
Her story is a universal story of dealing with adversity, figuring out who you are and finding your place in the world.
"It's very important to have that conversation at the same time. There's one quote in the book that I enjoy. It says, 'It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.' I appreciate that, as it's probably a concept that I've had with me my entire life that I don't know if I've been able to describe.
"I don't think you need to be a fan of Buffy Sainte-Marie's to enjoy this book. Her story is a universal story of dealing with adversity, figuring out who you are and finding your place in the world. It's a great story for anybody that's asking those questions of themselves at this point in time."
Jeremy Drury's comments have been edited for length and clarity.
