Joline Martin

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Biography

Disillusioned with the US involvement in the Vietnam War, Joline moved to Haida Gwaii, BC, Canada, in the early seventies. There, she discovered the beauty of the natural world and the importance of community. She had the privilege of living close to the Haida culture and learned a diverse set of values and the significance of the interconnectedness of the earth and its inhabitants. She worked in the school system, social services and mental health and addictions. Forty years later, she and her husband retired to the Comox Valley. With her, she brought an understanding of human dynamics and a deep compassion for people and poverty.

For the past ten years, Joline has been on the board of the Writers Society and a founding member and chair of the North Island Writers Conference. You can find her short stories in Island Writers Magazine, Comox Valley Collective and her personal story is in the BC Best Seller, Gumboot Girls. War Resisters: Standing Against the Vietnam War is her first book.

Collaborations

THE GUMBOOT BOOK SERIES COLLABORATION
Inspired by the work of Jane Wilde and Lou Allison in the four-book Gumboot series, Joline undertook the project of capturing Vietnam War resisters social history and lived experiences of leaving their country of origin for an uncertain future in a foreign country. Long-term friend Jane shared her expertise in capturing the contributors’ social history, working with a publisher, marketing, and coaching Joline through the steps of the creative process. Through her Gumboot connections, Jane referred resisters to Joline, which started a chain of notification to others in this unique population.Lou, also a fifty-year friend, skillfully edited the chapters, sharpening the content while preserving Joline’s voice. With help from Jane and Lou, Joline adapted the Gumboot format, interviewing twelve Vancouver Island resisters’ stories through multiple contacts and framing each of the resister stories with chapters explaining the geopolitical upheaval during the Vietnam War era and the conditions influencing them to leave the US.

MOVIE “HEART of GOLD” COLLABORATION
Joline and Patricia both came to Canada from the States in 1972 as political dissidents -- Joline to join her war resister brother in Haida Gwaii, Patricia to reunite with a resister on active duty in Toronto. They recently connected through a mutual friend, who noted their common thread with the common thread in Joline' new book War Resisters: Standing Against the Vietnam War and Patricias' new feature film Heart of Gold. Both projects recall the tumultuous era of resisters arriving in Canada, the extraordinary welcome they received in British Columbia, and their struggles in adjusting to life in exile. They have joined forces on a mini-tour to screen Heart of Gold, launch Joline' book, and meet with former resisters, their communities, and newly energized Canadians standing up for democracy and civil rights.

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Book

War Resisters: Standing Against the Vietnam War offers a contemporary perspective on the struggles and triumphs of the American Vietnam War resisters who resettled in Canada on Vancouver Island. This important collection of stories sheds light on an invisible minority, illustrating the courage it took for resisters to leave behind their friends, families, and communities with no certainty of return. Supporters on both sides of the 49th parallel showed compassion to the resisters by helping them escape the US draft and peacefully integrate into Canadian communities. In return, the resisters contributed to their newly adopted communities as farmers, teachers, caregivers, and more.

Through interviews with resisters, author Joline Martin shares previously untold stories about what it was like for them to start new lives on Vancouver Island all the while grappling with the consequences of their decisions to stand against the war. The resisters' stories blend with historical context to offer a deep and alternate insight into a time of political unrest in the United States. These stories challenge the long-held myths and assumptions about what it meant to be a Vietnam War resister. Edited by Lou Allison from the bestselling Gumboot series’, War Resisters pays homage to the legacy of this courageous community, not only in the lives they built but also in the generosity they continue to pay forward. Available from bookstores & Caitlin Press

Short Stories

Contact

Say hi, or say something wildly unnecessary. Both work.

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What	Where	When
Reading One	123 Fake St, Deception City	June 1st, 1991
Signing One	123 Fake St, Deception City	June 2nd, 1991
Reading Two	123 Fake St, Deception City	June 31st, 1991

Thank You

Aliquam erat volutpat. Praesent urna nisi quam. Integer sollicitudin magna.

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Events

_Event: _Reading
_{2025 Dec 7th, 2-4pm} _{Powell River, BC}
_{Joline Martin shares stories of twelve Vancouver Island residents who risked everything to stand by their principles, and the politics that lead them to leave the US.}

_Event: _Reading
_{2025 Nov 29th, 2-4pm} _{Courtenay, BC}
_{Joline Martin shares stories of twelve Vancouver Island residents who risked everything to stand by their principles, and the politics that lead them to leave the US.}

_Event:	_{Launch & Screening}
_{2025 Nov 23rd, 3-5pm}	_{Vancouver, BC}
_{Heart of Gold Vancouver filmaker Patricia Grubens feature drama tells the story of a US Army drafte who heads to Canada while his ex-girlfriend goes underground as an antiwar activist.}	_{Joline Martin shares stories of twelve Vancouver Island residents who risked everything to stand by their principles, and the politics that lead them to leave the US.}

_Event: _Reading
_{2025 Nov 8th, 2-4pm} _{Comox, BC}
_{Joline Martin shares stories of twelve Vancouver Island residents who risked everything to stand by their principles, and the politics that lead them to leave the US.}

_{Book Review}
_{Nov 5th,} _{Tom Hawthorn - BC Booklook}
_{Tens of thousands of young Americans came to Canada to escape military service in Vietnam and went on to lead productive lives here as told in a new homage to them.}

_Event: _Reading
_{2025 Nov 1st, 12-2pm} _{Port McNeill, BC}
_{Joline Martin shares stories of twelve Vancouver Island residents who risked everything to stand by their principles, and the politics that lead them to leave the US.}

_Event: _Reading
_{2025 Nov 2nd, 1-3pm} _{Malcolm Island, BC}
_{Joline Martin shares stories of twelve Vancouver Island residents who risked everything to stand by their principles, and the politics that lead them to leave the US.}

_{Press Release}
_{2025 Oct 20th,} _{Times Colonist}
_{Beetling for the border: New book tells stories of war resisters on Vancouver Island}

_Event:	_{Launch & Screening}
_{2025 Oct 19th, 1-4pm}	_{Denman Island, BC}
_{Heart of Gold Vancouver filmaker Patricia Grubens feature drama tells the story of a US Army drafte who heads to Canada while his ex-girlfriend goes underground as an antiwar activist.}	_{Joline Martin shares stories of twelve Vancouver Island residents who risked everything to stand by their principles, and the politics that lead them to leave the US.}

_Event:	_{Launch & Screening}
_{2025 Oct 18th, 1-4pm}	_{Courtenay. BC}
_{Heart of Gold Vancouver filmaker Patricia Grubens feature drama tells the story of a US Army drafte who heads to Canada while his ex-girlfriend goes underground as an antiwar activist.}	_{Joline Martin shares stories of twelve Vancouver Island residents who risked everything to stand by their principles, and the politics that lead them to leave the US.}

_{Press Release}
_{2025 Oct 9th,} _{The Islands Grapevine}
_{Those of us coming of age during the sixties hold vivid images of that time’s turmoil. Others born later are curious about the notorious protests, riots and social change of that era. Since the fall of Saigon, which effectively ended the Vietnam War, people are reliving the memories of divided families, violent protests and the senseless loss of life. In our current political climate, remembering the Vietnam War has never been so important.}

_{Press Release}

_{2025 Oct 9th,} _{The Islands Grapevine}

_{Those of us coming of age during the sixties hold vivid images of that time’s turmoil. Others born later are curious about the notorious protests, riots and social change of that era. Since the fall of Saigon, which effectively ended the Vietnam War, people are reliving the memories of divided families, violent protests and the senseless loss of life. In our current political climate, remembering the Vietnam War has never been so important.}

_{Book Review}
_{2025 Oct 5th,} _{Brendan Jure - Sooke News Mirror}
_{‘Great courage’: Island author shares stories of Americans fleeing the Vietnam War}

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Media

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