Raising Funds and Awareness for We All Become Stories

Since early July, I have been engaged in a fundraising campaign, with help from Margaret Lam, to raise money to promote We All Become Stories — largely the authors’ responsibility these days. Blue Denim Press has just released the book and I am having more and more conversations with people and groups that recognize the importance of understanding aging and honouring what the elderly offer to society.

The campaign has made my time in Manitoulin a pretty busy one, hardly the tranquil stay that the writer in me craves. But well worth the time and effort. A soft launch of We All Become Stories on Manitoulin Island at the Gore Bay Museum is scheduled for August 21 in the early evening–giving people plenty of time to watch the sunset before nightfall.
The official launch by Blue Denim Press in Toronto is slated for Sunday afternoon on September 29th. Many readings are lined up for the fall and early winter at libraries and other venues in the GTA, including a performance on Oct 27 with painter Holly Briesmaster and musician Peggy Mahon. Jan Garvey, of the Heliconian Club’s Dance section, and I are talking about a similar collaborative venture. It’s a very exciting time.

I have set a goal of raising $5,000 in my campaign. All of the funds will be used to generate awareness about the book in the broader public realm, and the important message that old age can be just as interesting and rewarding as any other of our life stages. I encourage you to contribute, in whatever amount suits your budget, to help me share not only the stories of the 12 people in the book, but all the other unspoken and silenced stories of our elders.

Please take a moment to discover those stories for yourselves! And to engage with long living people around you. You can share with all of us by using the #BecomingStories hashtag on twitter and facebook, and I will be reading!

With your help we can drum up a little buzz this summer about a book that reveals the fascination and uniqueness of this stage of life, that has too often only been ignored or feared.

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