Kind Words

Looks incredible, thank you so much! I'd say it's perfect!

Thank you so much. I dread resumes and having your input and word-crafting has been wonderful. You seriously made the process easy and enjoyable.

Amazing!!! Wow! A huge improvement from what I was sending out!!

This looks great! I really like the updated format - my old one felt like the same resume that my Dad would have used!

... First job my husband applied for using his new resume from you, he got! Exactly what he wanted! There were thousands of other applicants, but his resume stood out.

Thank you Katie! I think this is awesome!

Thanks for all your information. You really made me realize how important it is to have a strong resume - no one had explained that to me before. After reading over the file you sent me, I can't think of anything that should be changed! The resume looks great!!!

Looks fantastic!!!

This is fantastic! Thank you! I love the layout, it’s very professional looking!

This is wonderful! Thank you!

It looks amazing! Thank you so much, it looks great!

We are thrilled! For an 18 year old, his resume looks amazing!!

This looks 1,000 times better! I knew my resume was a hot mess, but I had no idea how bad! Thank you so much for your work on this. I’m so excited to have something so strong as I put myself forward.

Thank you Katie, this all looks great! Thank you very, very much for the work and also the incredible quick turn-around on this!

I got the job!!!!! Thank you so much for your work. I showed the resume to friends and family and everyone was so impressed as soon as they glanced at it for it's fresh and elegant appearance. And then as they read through it, they really appreciated the approach to the content. I will tell everyone that asks to seek you out!

... I got offered both jobs that I applied for with the resume you helped me with! The manager ... said he had never seen such a nice resume in all his years of managing. I ended up accepting a full-time position with my dream company! Thank you for your help. You took a lot of stress off my plate!

"I loved working with Katie! Right from the start, she made me feel excited about my CV curation (how is that even possible?) and she found ways to cut down my extensive portfolio, just leaving the essentials. She asked all the right questions too. If you want to have a nourishing experience and need a new CV or resume, you have to check out Always Brave Creative."

"Katie did an amazing job explaining., in great detail, each point in writing resumes."

"[Katie] is very helpful in relaying the information with getting a job/writing a resume or creating the perfect resume.”

"I would recommend [Katie] to other classes because it is very important to have the best resume possible to get a job in the tough economy we are in.”

"Katie clearly knows what she's talking about!"

“Fabulous class! I’m blown away by how much I learned. Thanks for making it fun!”

“It was such an enjoyable and informative workshop. I’m hoping to submit my piece to a literary journal soon!”

“I really enjoyed the workshop and got a lot out of it. The tips (Katie) gave were very valuable. I also really enjoyed the story you shared with us.”

“I was so inspired by last night’s class with you Katie. I loved the exercises that have given me a new writing tool I can use to make my short stories stronger and more meaningful. Thanks for creating this awesome course.”

“Thanks for a great class. I really liked (Katie’s) approach, enthusiasm, and positivity.”

"Bickell’s ability to weave the original, stand-alone short stories into a novel speaks to her evolution as a writer. She has taken glimpses into an alternate reality and built them into a vivid and compelling world that few writers have, until now, understood."

“The chapters are episodic pieces to a larger picture of interconnectivity. What I enjoyed most is the portrayal of Alberta's social fabric over time, and the way it has been affected by government policies and the vicissitudes of oil prices… Righting historic wrongs is a theme that left me with a hopeful feeling after I finished reading Always Brave, Sometimes Kind.”

“... if I had a Canadian literary prize to award, Always Brave Sometimes Kind by Katie Bickell would be on my shortlist and would probably win.”

“Always Brave, Sometimes Kind is forever beautiful. Bickell’s debut is a loving portrait of the people that you think you know, but don’t really, and who feel even more familiar thanks to her accurate map of one city’s past, politics, and pulse.”

“This is a very satisfying read. When I finished the book, I wanted to reread it immediately. Bickell shows the interconnectedness of our actions and our lives in such a way that this reader desperately wants to chart a family and friends tree. On the second read (yes, I read it twice), I was more aware of the connections and this enabled a different reading experience than the first time. Always clever, Sometimes puzzling. I recommend reading carefully to enjoy the subtlety of some connections. Time for a third reading.”

“Like a Northern Albertan wind in February, this courageous piece of writing exposes the harsh truths of life in modern Canada. Humourous, tender and sensitive, I was completely absorbed within the first few pages. I burst out laughing a couple of times at how profoundly accurate her depictions of Albertan life are. A really beautiful study of the intricate connections between us all.”

"Always Brave, Sometimes Kind is a book that allows people to go on a journey. Some of that journey is hard and some of it is beautiful. There are so many hidden connections and revelations that surprise the reader, creating captivating layers of meaning. This is an honest, much-needed look at life in Alberta and Canada. A must-read and a must-re-read. I loved the twists and turns and the heart-tugging plot of it all."

"I loved it.  ...There are moments of levity, moments where I had to wipe some tears, moments where I felt so angry at an injustice done. The characters are a diverse group from many different cultural and socioeconomic groups. Tough topics were handled in a tender way. ...I loved this ambitious novel. It made me think, feel, and seek to continue educating myself on Indigenous issues in Canada. A lot is packed into just 255 pages. At the end of what was at times an overwhelmingly heavy read, I did come away with the overarching themes of hope & kindness. “Be brave. Be kind.”

"...Katie Bickell wrote about all these stories with thoughtfulness and care. The way she weaves the characters' narrative together is pure magic."

"You know when you see a beautiful painting filled with colour, light and shadow, every intricacy a carefully considered piece of the whole picture? I love books with the same rich tones and purposeful choices, like Always Brave, Sometimes Kind, by Katie Bickell. The novel is a series of character-driven interconnected stories that will leave you with the familiar feeling of serendipity that comes with the strange and sometimes turbulent connections we experience in our own lives. With snapshots of the cultural realities of Northern Alberta from the past three decades, it’s a Canadian must-read. I devoured it like a Tim Horton’s maple-glazed."