Local Nurse Authors Literature About Nursing Self Help With Book Launch This Tuesday at The Vine

Local nurse of 18 years, Shawna Longford, has authored her first piece of literature, ‘Witness: Bring present for your patients, your colleagues, and yourself,’ and is holding a book launch at The Vine this Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The book’s cover. Longford graduated from Trent University in 2005. Photo courtesy of Shawna Longford.

The book was initially meant as a self-help book for nurses but could be for anyone with front-line professions, according to Longford.

“My intention was to support new people and help prolong careers,” she explained.

Longford has laid out in detail who the book is for:

• Anyone who has served in a profession that has wounded them physically, mentally or emotionally

• Those who understand the costs associated with the jobs that require duty and sacrifice

• People who have experienced PTSD, moral injury, compassion fatigue and burnout

• Someone looking for a way to sustain their career in healthcare or human services

• Leaders and educators curious about ways to teach and support resilience

• The recruitment and retention of nurses

Longford worked on the book four years ago and completed it this past summer. It was edited, written and printed locally with the help of five other contributors.

Books are available during the launch, with Longford doing signings. The Vine will have complimentary appetizers and non-alcoholic drinks during the event. Signature cocktails and other drinks are also available for purchase during the launch.

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Local Author David Goyette Launches 'Heading to Happy: Fourty Notes on a Life of Learning'

Local author David Goyette is launching his new book, “Heading to Happy: Forty Notes on a Life of Learning” on Dec. 2.

Photo courtesy of David Goyette.

The free launch event will take place at Showplace Performance Centre. Doors open at 5 p.m. and presentations take place at 5.30 p.m.

Goyette describes the book – his fifth – as a personal prescription for behaviour that opens the door to a happier life.

Originally published in 2011, “Heading to Happy” is a 250-page compilation of the author’s lifetime lessons in the art of living. Those lessons include behaviours affecting issues such as fairness, conflict, consumption, intuition, criticism, forgiveness, labelling, failure and learning.

“On its 10th anniversary, I decided to revise, update and reissue the book. I did so primarily because of the troubling disconnect that the pandemic has had on so many people, and the hope that they might benefit from a sharing of my own life learnings,” said Goyette.

Paul Rellinger is the host for the event. Reading selected passages from the book will be Victoria Pearce, Peterborough Councillor Henry Clarke and Douro Dummer Councillor Heather Watson.

Proceeds from the sale of the book are being donated to the Trent Valley Literacy Association.

“Heading to Happy” is available at Happenstance Books and on ebay.

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New Canadians Centre Launches Children's Book Inspired by Newcomers to Peterborough

Author and illustrator Casandra Lee has brought six children’s stories to life in her new book, “Building a Home” during a book launch at the New Canadians Centre (NCC) on Monday.

Jorge Escalera (far right), poses with his family at Monday’s book launch. Escalera is one of six children whose story inspired Building a Home. Photo by Angela O’Grady.

The book draws inspiration from children experiencing new cultures for the first time after immigrating to Canada.

Bhisham Ramoutar, NCC communication and engagement specialist, had the idea for a book two years ago when a newly immigrated family was served pizza for the first time.

“We got thinking about all the big things and the small things that children have to face when they come to a new country,” said Ramoutar. “We wanted to find a way to share those unique experiences.”

When Lee began volunteering at the NCC, Ramoutar knew he had found the perfect candidate to bring his idea to life.

Lee met with the six children that were from Syria, Kazakhstan, Mexico and Pakistan. They currently live and attend school in Nogojiwanong–Peterborough.

“Writing ‘Building a Home’ was really a dream come true for me,” she said. “Working directly with children and then translating that into a written, illustrated children’s book was really special.”

Casandra Lee reads Building a Home at the launch on Monday. Photo by Angela O’Grady.

Over the course of five weeks, Lee met with the children over Zoom. They spoke about shared experiences they were faced with when coming to Peterborough. A recurring theme was their love for their mothers cooking, opposed to new foods they were offered in Canada.

Jorge Escalera, 11, came to Canada from Monterrey, Mexico in 2016 when he was six after his father received a job opportunity at Quaker Oats Peterborough. He was one of the six children that shared his story.

“I was very excited when my mom told me I could participate,” said Escalera. “I was so happy, it felt amazing.”

There are free 400 copies of “Building A Home” available from the David Goyette & Victoria Pearce Arts Fund at the United Way of Peterborough and District. Copies can be ordered here and picked up at the NCC office in Peterborough and Cobourg. A digital copy of the book is available for free online.

Educators are invited to book a reading of “Building a Home” by Lee or other newcomers associated with the New Canadians Centre depending on the timing of the reading. To book a reading email bhisham@nccpeterborough.ca.

“Building a Home” is available in English, Arabic, Bengali, French, Korean, Mandarin and Spanish.

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Book Launch About Basic Income Comes to Local Café

The Basic Income Peterborough Network, KPR Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario and Nourish hosted a launch for “The Case for Basic Income – Freedom, Security, Justice” by Elaine Power and Jamie Swift at The Silver Bean Café, on Wednesday.

Elaine Powers and Jamie Swift sign books on Wednesday. Photo by Angela O’Grady.

Swift, a journalist from Kingston, began exploring the idea of a basic income in 2013 while working with the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul, a social activism group of Catholic Nuns.

The duo met when Swift moved to Kingston and began teaching at Queen’s University.

Under the leadership of former Liberal premier Kathleen Wynne, Hamilton and Lindsay were both selected as trial sites for the Ontario Basic Income Pilot in 2017.

This program saw 4,000 low-income earners receive $17,000 if they were single and $24,000 if coupled and included a $6,000 top-up for disabled people.

For people working low-wage jobs while participating, their basic income was reduced by 50 cents for every dollar they earned until they hit a cap of $34,000 for singles and about $48,000 for couples.

This pilot program ended a few months after it started when Doug Ford was voted premier.

Swift and Power began interviewing individuals that participated in the pilot program in 2018 and released the book in May 2021.

“I hope that anyone that reads this learns that Canada’s social assistance system is broken and corrupted and cruel. We live in a country that has more than enough to provide everybody with enough,” said Swift. “Basic livable income is one tool to address Canada - one of the richest countries in the world, that has millions of people living in poverty - basic livable income is one way to address Canada’s gnawing and grinding issue.”

Peterborough’s jazz trio, Chester Babcock perform at the Silver Bean on Wednesday. Photo by Angela O’Grady.

“My ultimate hope is that Canada has a basic income for anyone who needs it,” said Power. “I hope that in 50 years we can’t imagine that we ever lived without it. It seems like such a no brainer for me”

At Wednesday’s event, Swift and Power participated in a question-and-answer period and were joined by Peterborough’s jazz trio, Chester Babcock.

For more information about A Case for Basic Income, Freedom, Security, Justice or to buy the book, click here.

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Local Author Julie Kirkpatrick at Chapters for Book Signing of "The Camino Letters"

Julie Kirkpatrick was at Chapters Friday night in Peterborough to autograph copies of her new book, The Camino Letters: 26 Tasks on the Way to Finisterre.

Julie is a local lawyer, practicing in Millbrook. In need of a break from law, she scheduled time off work while trying to make the best use of her daughter's unexpected spare time while in France. They decided to spend a month walking an old historic pilgrimage route through Spain called the Camino de Santiago. To satisfy Julie's thirst for knowledge, she decided to liven up the walk by mailing 26 of her friends asking them to provide her a daily task to complete. This whole adventure impacted her far more than she ever expected.

The book is a snapshot of her life, but is relatable to all as it is based on universal themes such as life, death, love and fear. Readers have conveyed to her that despite how it being such a personal story, they were able to make strong unique connections to it.

Julie will be at Chapters again today for signings (1 p.m. to 3 p.m.), and her book launch is this evening in Millbrook. You can also read more about The Camino Letters on her blog.  —words and pictures by Evan Holt

[The Camino Letters]

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