COVID coping the theme of 6-Minute Memoir in Hamilton
The word or at least preposition of the decade so far seems to be through," as when are we getting through" this and are we even going to get through" this, through" to whatever lies on the other side of COVID.
Getting through," whatever that means to you, is the theme of COVID Confessions," the title of this Friday's (Sept. 24) 6-Minute Memoir. It features a lineup of speakers offering their own experiences with the pandemic, 12 in all, including Indigenous leader Janis Monture, CHCH Morning Show host Annette Hamm, MP Matthew Green, author Cathrin Bradbury (The Bright Side"), LGBTQ journalist Jumol Royes, and former Chatelaine magazine editor/author Rona Maynard.
Among the 12 will also be Sue Phillips, who is a death doula (someone who helps others through death the way a midwife does through birth) and also Hamilton medical ethicist Andrea Frolic.
They will all share true tales of coping in the time of COVID in the event's speed storytelling" format for a cause. Each author has six minutes to get in and out of their spot on the roster, and the dynamic it produces has been very successful.
In the nine years since its inception, 6-Minute Memoir has attracted thousands of listeners, featured 250 speakers and raised more than $60,000 for various charities and causes.
Other speakers on Friday are Unitarian minister Jamie Boyce, ESL teacher Jenny Dunlop, lawyer Celia Chandler and writer/gardener James McConnell.
Proceeds from this Friday's event will be split equally between the Woodland Cultural Centre's Save the Evidence" campaign (located on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory) to restore the former Mohawk Institute Residential School and reopen it as an education and interpretation centre.
They will also go to The First Unitarian Church of Hamilton, a liberal spiritual community in the city, which is co-host to the event.
It starts at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
The other host and founder of 6-Minute Memoir is Anne Bokma, an award-winning journalist and author, whose memoir My Year of Living Spiritually: One Woman's Secular Quest for a More Soulful Life," recently took home two Hamilton Literary Awards and is now being published in Dutch in the Netherlands. It is also the subject of a new podcast.
We all have our experiences through COVID," says Bokma, and one of the best ways to cope and get through or at least feel not so alone with it all is to share our stories."
Tickets for the event, which is being held once again on Zoom, are $10 per household. They can be purchased at: https://uuhamilton.ca/6mm-tickets The Zoom link is shared with ticket holders upon purchase.
More information on the event can be found at: https://www.annebokma.com/6-minute-memoir-live-events