Art Beat
Lethbridge based writer, artist, dancer and musician Jeff Godin hopes people will identify with the story of his life.
Godin recently released the first half of his heartfelt biography “ Bears Falling From Trees with Erections: Diary of an Indigenous Dude:Book 1” through Eaglespeaker Publishing.
It chronicles his life in Lethbridge’s arts scene from Feb. 26, 2016 to Aug. 7, 2017, while flashing back to his memories of days growing up as an indigenous youth being shuttled between foster homes and group homes in the ’70s and ’80s, while touching on his battles with addiction and abuse, run ins with police and adventures in nature with his friends. It also offers tantalizing hints about his experiences being in the military and other future adventures including performing with Calgary theatre groups like the Green Fools and performing at the Calgary Stampede.
His adventures in the Lethbridge arts scene are particularly interesting, as while he rarely uses last names for his characters, people familiar with the scene will recognize some of the names.
The first book covers up to his age 18 or 19.
“I wrote my whole story but it was like 800 pages. So the publisher cut it in half. When it sells 150 copies, they’ll release book two,” he said, noting 40 copies have already sold on Amazon.
“I just wrote my story. I forgot some things, but most of the time I got the right stuff in it and touched on the most important things,” he said.
It is heartfelt and honest, almost too honest in places, and a little rough.
“ It’s not for everyone,”’ Godin said.
