Book Talk – A Perfect Offering: Stories of Trauma and Transformation
Tue, Jan 25, 2022 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (UTC-5)
Register here.
This event is part of Book Talk, a webinar series for Ryerson’s alumni and friends.
About this event
What happens when your world cracks apart? When everything you thought you knew no longer holds true, and the life you used to live suddenly evaporates? Join us on January 25th for a book talk with contributors of A Perfect Offering: Personal Stories of Trauma and Transformation.
In this book talk, Suzanne Heft, co-editor of A Perfect Offering, will sit down with contributors of the book, Jules Koostachin and Marina Nemat, to learn more about their personal stories of trauma and transformation.
About the Book:
A Perfect Offering illuminates the dark recesses of trauma—the sudden loss of a child, surviving sexual assault, the legacy of residential schools, enduring war and imprisonment, living with chronic illness—and shines with the imperfect grace and resilience of the human heart. Some of the 31 stories will shock and disorient. Others will inspire and comfort. All are illustrative and compelling.
Giveaway:
Register today for your chance to win a free copy of A Perfect Offering! Registrants must attend the event to win. See full giveaway details.
Proceeds from the book are being generously donated to support students in their training at The Ryerson IMPACT Lab. The IMPACT Lab investigates methods to prevent, assess and care for trauma. Learn more about the IMPACT Lab.
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We are committed to hosting an inclusive and accessible event for everyone. Please contact laura.greflund@ryerson.ca if you require accommodations.
About the Speakers:
Suzanne Heft, Co-Editor, A Perfect Offering
Suzanne Heft spent her childhood living in the United States, the Middle East and England, before attending the University of Toronto where she graduated with a B.A. in English Literature in 1990. After a brief stint in public relations, she joined the non-profit sector and has been a senior executive on numerous fundraising campaigns over 20-year Toronto-based career. Together with her late husband Harold Heft, and friend and writer Peter O’Brien, she is a co-editor of A Perfect Offering: Personal Stories of Trauma and Transformation. The book was precipitated by her husband’s experience upon receiving the diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumour in 2014. She is the mother of two sons, and a passionate believer in the power of story.
Jules Koostachin, Film Director, Owner of VisJuelles Productions Inc. and Contributor, A Perfect Offering
Dr. Jules Koostachin is an InNiNew IsKwew (Swampy Cree woman) and a band member of Attawapiskat First Nation located in what is now called northern Ontario. Jules was raised by her Cree speaking grandparents in Moosonee, as well as in Ottawa with her mother, a residential school warrior. She is a graduate of Concordia University’s Theatre program and Ryerson University’s Documentary Media Master’s program. In 2010, Jules was awarded an Award of Distinction and an Academic Gold Medal for her thesis documentary film Remembering Inninimowin. She is the mother of four incredible sons, a published writer, a performance artist, an academic and an award-winning filmmaker. She completed her PhD with the Institute of Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice program at the University of British Columbia with a focus on Indigenous documentary practices. Jules is represented by The Characters Talent and Lucas Talent in Vancouver, and she is the voice of Layla (Molly’s mom) on the award-winning animated series Molly of Denali. Jules has also been actively working with Indigenous communities supporting women and children who face barriers.
To learn more about Jules Koostachin and her work, please visit her website.
Marina Nemat, Author & Contributor, A Perfect Offering
Marina Nemat was born in 1965 in Tehran, Iran. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, she was arrested at the age of sixteen and spent more than two years in Evin, a political prison in Tehran, where she was tortured and came very close to execution. She came to Canada in 1991 and has called it home ever since. Her memoir of her life in Iran, Prisoner of Tehran, was published in Canada in 2007, has been published in 29 other countries, and has been an international bestseller. In 2007, Marina received the inaugural Human Dignity Award from the European Parliament and, in 2008, the Grinzane Prize in Italy. She was the recipient of the Morris Abram Human Rights Award from UN Watch in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2014. In February 2017, she received Premio Ceppo Pistoia, a prestigious award given every year in Tuscany, Italy. In 2008/2009, she was an Aurea Fellow at University of Toronto’s Massey College, where she wrote her second book, After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed, published in 2010. Marina regularly speaks at high schools, universities, and conferences around the world, and has spoken at University of Milan, Oxford University, Yale, Tufts, Berkeley, and Stanford, to name a few. She has served on the Board of Directors at the CCVT (Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture), Vigdis (a Norwegian charitable organization that provides legal and other forms of assistance to female political prisoners around the world), Writers in Exile at PEN Canada, and the International Council of the Human Rights Foundation in the U.S. She has a Certificate in Creative Writing from the School of Continuing Studies at University of Toronto and currently teaches memoir writing at the SCS.
To learn more about Marina Nemat and her work, please visit her website.
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