“Just the Usual Work is a stellar example of research that sets diary writing in its historical context. … Michael Boudreau and Bonnie Huskins use this manuscript diary for a deep dive into local social history, using precise historical research to show how Ida is both representative of her time and place and uniquely herself. They correctly note that “elderly men and women are ‘the most invisible to the social historian’”, and, for this alone, the edition breaks fresh ground in terms of reading life writing across an entire life span.” Canadian Historical Review

“Just the Usual Work is a wonderful addition to histories of the Maritime region and a loving homage to a woman whose diary practice spanned almost an entire lifetime. As Huskins and Boudreau navigate the accounts of Ida’s life, their analysis offers readers an overview of a community governed by patterns of seasonal labour, the need for frugal spending, and a complicated sense of contentment alongside a desire for stability. Without flourish or the time for embellishment, the ebb and flow of Ida’s narrative are enlightening and unique, so too are the insights Huskins and Boudreau garner from her words and experiences.” The Miramichi Review

“The authors have worked hard to historicize, contextualize, and bring to life Ida Martin, at once representative of her gender, class, race, region, and time, yet unique – which is exactly what makes her story so worth telling. Most important of all, they have succeeded in making Ida Martin the hero of her own life.” Cynthia Comacchio, Wilfrid Laurier University

“What makes this publication especially valuable is the well-informed analysis provided by Ida’s granddaughter Bonnie Huskins and her partner Michael Boudreau, both social historians specializing in the history of Atlantic Canada. They bring an impressive body of personal and professional knowledge to bear on Ida’s world, fleshing out her often-cryptic comments to round out her life story. A welcome addition to the growing body of academic literature on the surviving diaries of ordinary people who offer a unique angle of vision on the past.” University of Toronto Quarterly

“It is our good fortune that Ida Martin—wife, mother, grandmother, household manager, sister, aunt, friend, worker, Christian, temperance advocate, and devoted diarist—kept daily diaries and that these have survived. ‘Just the usual work’ enriches our understanding of working-class families and family life during the postwar period. Ida Martin’s diaries provide a unique perspective on postwar Saint John. By situating the diarist within her social context, Bonnie Huskins and Michael Boudreau have looked beyond the seemingly mundane to find the significance of the patterns and rhythms of daily life.” Journal of New Brunswick Studies

“While Ida’s life and personality draw us in, it is the fine work of Boudreau and Huskins that makes her diary a significant contribution the historiography of life writing, gender, and class in postwar Canada.” The American Review of Canada Studies

"The authors nicely illuminate the patterns of sociability, of leisure activities, of relationships within and across generations to give the reader an insight into working-class family life in the postwar decades. ... [A]n excellent potential text for undergraduate teaching in social, gender, and 20th-century history courses." Labour/Le Travail

Michael Boudreau is professor of criminology and criminal justice, St. Thomas University. Bonnie Huskins teaches history at St. Thomas University and is adjunct professor at the University of New Brunswick.