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The Halton Hills Public Library's One Book, One Halton Hills program began in 2011 as a way to encourage reading throughout the community. The aim of the program is to have everyone read the same book once each year, creating a town-wide book club.
The Library also offers programs to complement the theme of each year's book selection, including an evening with the author. Over the years, the One Book, One Halton Hills program has helped introduce the community to new books and bestselling novels, and the Library has welcomed a diverse range of respected Canadian authors.
One Book, One Halton Hills
We are thrilled to announce the 2026 One Book, One Halton Hills selection: The Cure for Drowning by Loghan Paylor, a powerful, award-winning Canadian novel that has captured readers across the country.
This year, you are invited to dive into a story that blends history, magic, and unforgettable characters, and then come together as a community to share the experience.
An Evening with Loghan Paylor
About the Author
Loghan Paylor is a queer, trans writer who lives in Chilliwack, BC.
They are the author of the #1 national bestseller, The Cure for Drowning (Random House Canada, 2024), which won the 2026 CBC Canada Reads competition. It was shortlisted for the 2026 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Speculative Fiction, the 2025 BC and Yukon Book Prize: Jim Deva Prize for Writing That Provokes, and long listed for the 2024 Giller Prize. It was a 2024 Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year pick.
Their work has appeared in Room, Prairie Fire, CBC Arts and more. Their nonfiction work was longlisted for the 2025 CBC Nonfiction Prize.
Loghan is a graduate of The Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University. They also have an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. Loghan divides their time between teaching, writing, and co-owning a game company.
About the Book
Evocative, magical and luminously written, The Cure for Drowning is not only a brilliant, boundary-pushing love story but a Canadian historical novel that boldly centres queer and non-binary characters in unprecedented ways.
Born Kathleen to an immigrant Irish farming family in southern Ontario, Kit McNair has been a troublesome changeling since, at ten, they fell through the river ice and drowned—only to be nursed back to life by their mother's Celtic magic. A daredevil in boy's clothes, Kit chafes at every aspect of a farmgirl's life, driving that same mother to distraction with worry about where Kit will ever fit in. When Rebekah Kromer, an elegant German-Canadian doctor's daughter, moves to town with her parents in April 1939, Rebekah has no doubt as to who 19-year-old Kit is. Soon she and Kit, and Kit's older brother, Landon, are drawn tight in a love triangle that will tear them and their families apart, and send each of them off on a separate path to war.
Landon signs up for the Navy. Kit, now known as Christopher, joins the Royal Air Force, becoming a bomber navigator relied on for his luck and courage. Rebekah serves with naval intelligence in Halifax, until one more collision with Landon changes the course of her life and draws her back to the McNair farm—a place where she'd once known love. Fallen on even harder times, the McNairs welcome all the help she is able to give, and she believes she has found peace at last. Until, with the war over, Kit and Landon return home.
Told in the vivid, unforgettable voices of Kit and Rebekah, The Cure for Drowning is a powerfully engrossing novel that imagines a history that is truer than true.
Read the Book Today!
Prepare for One Book, One Halton Hills by getting a copy of The Cure for Drowning through the Library!
Upcoming OBOHH Programs
It Starts With a Seed - Seed Saving: The Why, When, How, and More with Sierra Club
Thursday, September 24, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.
Inspired by the themes of our One Book selection, this hands-on workshop explores the art and science of seed saving. The novel's focus on family, place, and connection to the land provides a starting point for learning how saving seeds helps sustain local ecosystems and biodiversity. Registered.
Unearthing Halton Hills: Relics of Our Past
Thursday, October 22, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.
Explore local artifacts from the Second World War era and learn how they reflect the experiences of Halton Hills residents during a pivotal moment in history. The objects offer a tangible link to the period depicted in this year's featured novel. Join guest speaker Scott Brooks, Local Historian from Vintage Acton, for an engaging presentation on artifacts from this pivotal period.
OBOHH Book Club
Thursday, October 22, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.
Connect with fellow readers at our OBOHH Book Club! Enjoy lively discussion, discover new books, and share ideas in a relaxed and welcoming environment as we discuss this year's title, The Cure for Drowning.
“The Most Beautiful Woman is a Man”: Drag and Queer Love in Canada during the World Wars
Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 7:00 p.m.
When we think about the World Wars, many recall images of men going off to fight on the front. However, gender was never that simple. In this informative talk, Aly Firth offers a look at drag performers and queer soldiers during the First and Second World Wars. Firth examines how patriotism and wartime morale rewrote how Canadians understood gender.
WWII Prisoners of War and the White Bus Rescue Mission
Monday, November 2, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.
Discover untold stories of WWII survival and rescue. This presentation centers on the First Special Service Force prisoners of war at Dachau Concentration Camp, highlighting their experiences both inside and outside the wire. The session will conclude with a look at the historic White Buses humanitarian rescue operation that saved thousands of lives in the final days of the war.
