Before We Were the Land's tells a tale of immigration and resettlement that is at the same time unique and a cornerstone of Canadiana.

This book, and its partner volume, attempt to speak for the people who participated in the history of this village in the Upper Fraser Valley.

Yarrow was there before the Mennonite immigrants arrived in 1928, and earlier settlers could not have foretold its future. It sat on rich farmland but was subject to severe flooding, which made for a percarious existence. However, by the time the Mennonites came from Russia, a river had been rerouted and a lake had been drained. The Mennonites were a farming people, and they ultimately became the land's.