To the River: Losing My Brother
Don Gillmor
Dec 2018 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Michael Riley
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5 hr 17 min
Unabridged
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WINNER OF THE GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD FOR NON-FICTION
An eloquent and haunting exploration of suicide in which one of Canada's most gifted writers attempts to understand why his brother took his own life. Which leads him to another powerful question: Why are boomers killing themselves at a far greater rate than the Silent Generation before them or the generations that have followed?
In the spring of 2006, Don Gillmor travelled to Whitehorse to reconstruct the last days of his brother, David, whose truck and cowboy hat were found at the edge of the Yukon River just outside of town the previous December. David's family, his second wife, and his friends had different theories about his disappearance. Some thought David had run away; some thought he'd met with foul play; but most believed that David, a talented musician who at the age of 48 was about to give up the night life for a day job, had intentionally walked into the water. Just as Don was about to paddle the river looking for traces, David's body was found, six months after he'd gone into the river. And Don's canoe trip turned into an act of remembrance and mourning.
At least David could now be laid to rest. But there was no rest for his survivors. As his brother writes, "When people die of suicide, one of the things they leave behind is suicide itself. It becomes a country. At first I was a visitor, but eventually I became a citizen." In this tender, probing, surprising work, Don Gillmor brings back news from that country for all of us who wonder why people kill themselves. And why, for the first time, it's not the teenaged or the elderly who have the highest suicide rate, but the middle aged. Especially men.
An eloquent and haunting exploration of suicide in which one of Canada's most gifted writers attempts to understand why his brother took his own life. Which leads him to another powerful question: Why are boomers killing themselves at a far greater rate than the Silent Generation before them or the generations that have followed?
In the spring of 2006, Don Gillmor travelled to Whitehorse to reconstruct the last days of his brother, David, whose truck and cowboy hat were found at the edge of the Yukon River just outside of town the previous December. David's family, his second wife, and his friends had different theories about his disappearance. Some thought David had run away; some thought he'd met with foul play; but most believed that David, a talented musician who at the age of 48 was about to give up the night life for a day job, had intentionally walked into the water. Just as Don was about to paddle the river looking for traces, David's body was found, six months after he'd gone into the river. And Don's canoe trip turned into an act of remembrance and mourning.
At least David could now be laid to rest. But there was no rest for his survivors. As his brother writes, "When people die of suicide, one of the things they leave behind is suicide itself. It becomes a country. At first I was a visitor, but eventually I became a citizen." In this tender, probing, surprising work, Don Gillmor brings back news from that country for all of us who wonder why people kill themselves. And why, for the first time, it's not the teenaged or the elderly who have the highest suicide rate, but the middle aged. Especially men.
About the author
DON GILLMOR is one of Canada's most accomplished writers. He is the author of the bestselling, award-winning two-volume Canada: A People's History, and his journalism on suicide has earned him both a National Newspaper Award and a National Magazine Award. Gillmor's other books include the novels Kanata, Mount Pleasant and Long Change, all of which were published to critical acclaim, and nine books for children, two of which were nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two children.
MICHAEL RILEY is a professor of film and literature at Claremont McKenna College. A contributing editor of Literature/Film Quarterly, he has published numerous critical essays and interviews, is the author of Conversations with Anne Rice, and is the coauthor of The Films of Joseph Losey. Professor Riley lives in Pasadena, California.
MICHAEL RILEY is a professor of film and literature at Claremont McKenna College. A contributing editor of Literature/Film Quarterly, he has published numerous critical essays and interviews, is the author of Conversations with Anne Rice, and is the coauthor of The Films of Joseph Losey. Professor Riley lives in Pasadena, California.
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