Francine Lalonde’s private member’s bill to legalize assisted suicide is the seventh such bill before the House of Commons in the last 18 years, according to this excellent column called “Ottawa can’t ignore euthanasia debate forever” by Don Martin. Well worth reading.
Ian Brown is probably the finest non-fiction writer in the country and his new book, The Boy in the Moon: A Father’s Search for His Disabled Son, is fabulous. Don’t let the subject matter fool you into thinking this is a grim read. Sure, it is, in places, sad, and occasionally angry, and always unflinching in its honesty, but it is never despairing; instead, it’s full of wisdom, humour and hope. I was in awe of the guy who wrote it: not just Brown, the supremely talented writer (that was certainly no surprise to me), but of Brown, the man — a guy, who by his own admission is no saint, but who is so devoted to his son Walker.
I will be interviewing Ian Brown at McNally Robinson’s Toronto store on October 13 at 8 pm. That’s a particularly intimidating prospect for me not just because I’ve never interviewed anyone in public before, but because I’ve watched him on stage with some of my favourite writers — including Tobias Wolff, Nicholson Baker and Jim Harrison — and he is the best I’ve ever seen at public author interviews. Still, my apprehension can’t match the honour I feel at the prospect of discussing his brilliant new book with him.
I love fiction, and read as much of it as I can, but I realize some people can’t get into it. That’s why I wasn’t surprised to learn that the Mount Pleasant branch of the Toronto Public Library has a No Fiction group. I was surprised — but also delighted — to receive an invitation to speak to this group about DRIVE on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 7 pm. Everyone is welcome so feel free to drop by even if you’re not a member of the group or you also love reading novels and short stories.