Making Connections, a clear and practical guide for addressing issues of women learners, was created by a diverse group of Canadian women in literacy, EAL/ESL and women's learning. As the Introduction explains, a feminist curriculum "does not tell women what to think, how to live or what to do, " but instead, makes space for women's experience and invites learners "to make connections between their lives and the lives of others, and to think about issues of invisibility and power."

These materials are not for women-only groups. Except for specific topics (e.g. Choosing Safer Sex), they are meant to be used with mixed groups of women and men or in one-to-one work. Chapter themes include: Daily Lives, Self Esteem and Literacy, Cultural Awareness, Gender Roles, Women and Work, and Canadian Women's Music, Poetry and History (Herstory). Each chapter provides topics that women learners can identify with: family life, emotions, occupational choices, and experiences of violence. The chapter, Responding to Disclosures of Abuse in Women's Lives, shows how to support women when returning to learning opens up painful childhood and school memories.

The following features make the resource easy to use:

• detailed descriptions of learning activities and teaching suggestions
• anecdotes from field tests
• copy-ready handouts of readings and exercises
• "jagged heart" icons draw attention to material which may trigger strong and/or painful emotions and suggest sensitive ways to present it
• the accompanying cassette of songs
• helpful chapter resource lists and bibliography

Aboriginal learners at Heiltsuk College appreciated the inclusion of stories that highlighted contributions of First Nations. They also noted that the notion of feminism is new to them, for in their history everyone had an important role, and all knowledge, rights and territory were passed on through the women. When students in a Role Models class typically identified elders and grandparents rather than TV celebrities as people they admired, the instructor had to examine how her expectations may have influenced her delivery of the material. Another instructor would have liked more material addressing triggers of racism and oppression in the poetry unit.

As these comments indicate, it is important to adapt these materials to your learners' particular needs. The learner-centred approach is an integral part of Making Connections. Because it provides ways and means for bringing women into that centre, it is an important and innovative resource for Canadian literacy.