Submitted by Nelson Public Library
Rita Moir’s mother and sister underwent heart surgery in the same week. A year later her sister was dead and her elderly mother lived many more years. Moir explores this disruption of what she calls “the natural order” in her new book, Not of Reason: A Recipe for Outrunning Sadness, published in September by Caitlin Press.
Moir reads from her memoir at the Nelson Public Library on Wednesday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
In Not of Reason, Moir gifts the reader with her “recipe” for surviving the unthinkable through heartfelt prose and a healthy dose of humour. Encouraged by her mother to “opt for joy,” Moir describes how she remained grounded by becoming more deeply involved in her community in the Slocan Valley, continuing to visit Minnesota to support her mother and sister and making space for love and the beauty of the everyday.
“I needed this book,” says author Angie Abdou. “A beautiful meditation on life, death, family, loss, and love. Not of Reason feels like a glass of wine with your wisest, warmest, most honest friend — an antidote to sadness. Rita Moir is a gift.”
COVID-19 protocols for the Nelson Library event, including masks and distancing, are in effect. Registration is required due to space limitations. To register call the library at 250-352-6333 or email hgoldik@nelson.ca.
Rita Moir is the award-winning author of the photo history, The Third Crop: A Personal and Historical Journey Into the Photo Albums and Shoeboxes of the Slocan Valley, and creative non-fiction memoirs, The Windshift Line, Buffalo Jump, and Survival Gear. For decades she worked as a freelance reporter for The Globe and Mail and CBC Radio, which also produced several of her plays. She lives in B.C.’s Slocan Valley, with her partner Dan, her cat Chutney, and her dog Brier.