BOOK Overview

In his nearly 30 years at The StarPhoenix, Cam Fuller wrote about a thousand columns. The Fuller Picture is a collection of some of his favourites - about some of his favourite things to write about. The Fuller Picture is an entertaining look at life that all of us can relate to.  

"I love writing columns about work. It's a chance to put the unsung heroes of my profession in the spotlight, to dispel notions that journalists are heartless muckrakers or careless with the facts. Maybe some are, but I've never worked with one. It's also a great way to let the reader look backstage . . ."

"The only way old people have fun with snow is by complaining about it. Writing about the weather and the seasons is now my coping strategy. It's only mildly cathartic, but at least misery loves snowsuited company."

"I was a Christmas-loving kid, and I had no choice in the matter. When you have five older brothers and sisters and a mother who worships the ground that Good King Wenceslas walks on, your love of the season is bound to be deep and crisp and even."

"Writing about marriage is like walking through a forest. You're on a path, a bridal path, let's say. Eventually, you step on some twigs. They are covering a pit. You fall in. Then you write about how you had no idea there was a pit there."

"For a columnist, the wonder, frustration and absurdity of parenting were topics as irresistible as cookies on a high shelf. As a writer, all you can hope for is that the reader might identify, take solace, be amused. But, selfishly, my kid columns are also notes to myself - documentary evidence of the hard slogging, lest I got too sentimental, proof of the awesome innocence, lest I got too discouraged."

"Some guys are just handy. They know how to do everything. I should envy them but I don't. Some guys don't know how to do anything and don't care. Them I envy. For it is caring that leads one to doom."

"I happen to be a nostalgiaholic. I've looked back fondly on the good old days since Grade 3. Some kids couldn't wait to grow up. I was in no particular hurry because I was having a good time."

"I reckon I've written about 1,000 columns over 25 years. It's been an incredible privilege to crack a few jokes and maybe break the tension in your life and mine a time or two. I can only hope the laughs were genuine - and any insights worthwhile."