Off the Page
A blog on Canadian writing, reading, and everything in between
Dazzling Memoirs
Marjorie Simmins, author of MEMOIR: CONVERSATIONS AND CRAFTS, recommends her dream lineup of memoirs.
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A Taster: Spring 2021 Nonfiction Preview
Life stories, family, baseball, and retreat. These highlight the nonfiction we're most looking forward to this spring.
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ICYMI: Don't Miss These Beauties
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Small Courage: Parenting Memoirs
A recommended reading list by Jane Byers, whose new queer parenting memoir is out now.
The Chat with Kimiko Tobimatsu
Author Kimiko Tobimatsu and illustrator Keet Geniza have teamed up to create Kimiko Does Cancer, a timely graphic memoir …
A Record of Literary History: Best Canadian Poetry 2020
An excerpt from Marilyn Dumont's introduction to BEST CANADIAN POETRY 2020.
The Donair: Canada's Official Food?
Excerpt from BOOK OF DONAIR explores how a bitter rivalry between Halifax and Edmonton helped propel the donair to be de …
Notes From a Children's Librarian: Questions, Questions
Great picture books that engage with questions and encourage readers to think about answers.
Most Anticipated: Our 2021 Spring Fiction Preview
Exciting debuts, and new releases by Christy Ann Conlin, Pasha Malla, Eva Stachniak, Jael Richardson, and more.
Results for keyword: “cults”
Marianne Boucher's TALKING TO STRANGERS
Today we're launching Marianne Boucher's graphic memoir Talking to Strangers, about her experiences as a teenage girl who was lured into a cult and later fought to escape and reclaim her identity.
*****
The Elevator Pitch. Tell us about your book in a sentence.
My memoir, Talking to Strangers, takes place in California when I was 18. I had travelled there to audition for the Ice Capades, but instead I was lured into a scary religious cult.
Describe your ideal reader.
Someone who has been flung off the planet by a traumatic experience and is curious about how I found my way back from the same. People concerned about brainwashing or mind control and how disinformation undermines the truth and the rights of others. And those with an interest in mental health, psychology and the history of PTSD.
What authors/books is your work in conversation with?
David Small, Stitches; Matt Haig, Reasons to Stay Alive; Elaine Scarry, On Beauty and Being Just; Dr. Margaret Singer, Cults in Our Midst.
What is something interesting you learned about your book/yourself/your subject during the process of creating and publishing your book?
I thought it was going to be difficult to draw myself, but it was actually very satisfying to relive this event visually, and I developed a huge crush on my 1 …
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Marianne Boucher's TALKING TO STRANGERS
Today we're launching Marianne Boucher's graphic memoir Talking to Strangers, about her experiences as a teenage girl who was lured into a cult and later fought to escape and reclaim her identity.
*****
The Elevator Pitch. Tell us about your book in a sentence.
My memoir, Talking to Strangers, takes place in California when I was 18. I had travelled there to audition for the Ice Capades, but instead I was lured into a scary religious cult.
Describe your ideal reader.
Someone who has been flung off the planet by a traumatic experience and is curious about how I found my way back from the same. People concerned about brainwashing or mind control and how disinformation undermines the truth and the rights of others. And those with an interest in mental health, psychology and the history of PTSD.
What authors/books is your work in conversation with?
David Small, Stitches; Matt Haig, Reasons to Stay Alive; Elaine Scarry, On Beauty and Being Just; Dr. Margaret Singer, Cults in Our Midst.
What is something interesting you learned about your book/yourself/your subject during the process of creating and publishing your book?
I thought it was going to be difficult to draw myself, but it was actually very satisfying to relive this event visually, and I developed a huge crush on my 1 …
