I'm not sure where to even start. I'm so glad I got a chance to read this book (thanks NetGalley and ECW Press!!!), it was like reliving my teenage years without the angst, while talking to an amazing role model of a Canadian woman at the same time, but also that is not even close to how I want to describe this amazing book. Guess I'll just ramble for a while and maybe I'll get over my fan girl excitement and find something coherent to say. Maybe.
First off, if you've never heard of Degrassi, maybe that's where we should start. I am a millennial, so I grew up along side the Degrassi: The Next Generation cast. This is an important distinction because there are multiple series within this franchise. Degrassi:TNG premiered in 2001, I would have been about 10. I fully believed it was literally the coolest show ever (maybe second only to Boy Meets World but for all of the same reasons). I distinctly remember being about 12 and watching the show for the first time in the evening at home and thinking: "Wow, this show is so grown up, I hope my parents don't get mad at me for watching it because I can't wait to watch it again! Where's the TV Guide?! I need to find out when this show is on!!" It felt almost taboo, like the actors were sharing secrets with me about how to be a teenager. They were talking about things that I had such very limited knowledge about and that we weren't covering in class, but yet were what was talked about at sleepovers or during lunch break. I couldn't get enough Degrassi.
As I said, I grew up with the cast. I was a tiny bit younger than them, but as Linda Schuyler says in her book (I'll get to the review eventually I promise), they were age appropriate actors, so they actually were only a couple years older than me. This obviously enhanced the cool factor. Plus, they were Canadian! 13 year old me had a mad crush on Ryan Cooley/J.T. Yorke, and the fact that he lived one province over from me made it totally possible that we would one day meet and get married. Obviously. I learned about abortions from Manny, using protection from J.T., that celery has negative calories from Emma (and also that eating disorders are not something that you want to idolize). I knew Aubrey Graham as Jimmy way before anyone had heard of Drake. Every time a season ended I wished and hoped and pleaded for another season to be made. From that first episode I was hooked.
Degrassi is back!!! More details here: https://www.degrassi.tv/
My parents didn't really seem to care (or notice?) that I was obsessed with this show, so I decided I didn't need to hide it from them. I even remember watching a Degrassi marathon on the couch at my Grandma's house over winter break. But as I grew older I started to hide my love of Degrassi for a different reason. I started to feel like maybe I was too old for this show. Yet, what hooked me at 12 was what I still loved at 20: the real stories that are important to young people, the teenage drama that we all experienced in some way or another but also the relief of being able to watch it happen and not actually have to live it. Also, how could I abandon the characters I grew up with and also their younger siblings?! And even now (about to turn 31...) I know that there was a part of me who just read this book to find out if Degrassi was done (Spoiler alert: she said it's not!!). If there's one thing that Degrassi has taught me, it is that there is a lot to learn about the world, and if there's one thing Linda Schuyler taught me, it's that even adults need to learn a lot too. Sounds like the perfect segue into a book review if I don't say so myself!
The Mother of All Degrassi by Linda Schuyler did not disappoint. I absolutely adored it. The memoir chronicled all aspects of her life from early childhood in Britain to her recent retirement and sale of her company (and Degrassi?! Oh the horror I felt! But again, don't worry she said it's not the end of Degrassi, we can breathe). I learned about her life in college and her start in the film industry. I also learned that she was a teacher, her first few years were in Junior High (just like mine!) and that definitely set the stage for the rest of her life, directors and producers are really just teachers in a way, especially if they are working with teenagers! I loved learning about the Canadian media industry before I was born and how it has evolved into the streaming services we know and love today. I carefully studied the history of Degrassi as told by the creator, learning all about the first few series that came before my time. I loved Linda's open discussion of the challenges she faced as a woman CEO in Canada in the 1970s, and her description of the many waves of feminism that she was in some way connected to over time. I felt heartbreak for her when her partner was an ass and fear when negotiations with broadcasters meant risking everything for what she believed in. Degrassi 100% would not have been the show it is today if there had been a crazy cat lady like one of the broadcasters wanted. Thank you Linda for standing up to them about that and going on to create a show I love. Also, I will remember you every time banks, government and other businesses write letters addressed only to my husband. Feminism has come a long way since the 1970s but not quite far enough.
Of course, my favourite part was when we got to around 2000 and she was describing Degrassi: TNG. It was almost like reading one of those J14 magazines to get the gossip on my favourite teen heart throbs but without the gossip. I swooned over her descriptions of the cast I loved in a personal way. She described episodes I'd forgotten about, she brought memories rushing back in when she mentioned some of the most powerful episodes (for her and for me). I learned about the challenges that my favourite show faced and celebrated the successes as if I was back in 2005. This book is extremely well written, covers so many important issues contemporary to each stage of Linda's (and Degrassi's) life. Linda created the role models I desperately wanted when I was a teen, but meanwhile she was living the role model life I didn't know I needed to know about and is the role model I need today as an adult.
This is definitely my most rambly review, and I have no idea how I will turn this into something for Goodreads and NetGalley, but I hope I made my message clear. Degrassi was a huge part of my adolescent life and reading this memoir helped me see all sides of this show and the amazing woman who created it. If you loved Degrassi you must read this book. I'm not sure anyone could enjoy it as much as I did, but I dare you to try!
November 26, 2022
I just finished listening to the audiobook version of the book and loved it all the same as the print version! I would definitely recommend it for anyone who prefers audiobooks or who can only find an audiobook version available. Thanks again to NetGalley for giving me the chance to enjoy this book a second time!