Sound Mind: A Celebration of Mindfulness and Mental Health through Fiction, Memoir, and Music

Sound Mind: A Celebration of Mindfulness and Mental Health through Fiction, Memoir, and Music is geared to helping cultural producers across a variety of fields (including writers, editors, visual artists, and musicians) learn about mental health challenges and adopt new strategies for wellness, mindfulness, and creativity. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in a mindfulness session at the beginning and end of this event.

This special event is a joint production of Editors Toronto; Canadian Authors–Toronto; and the Creative Writing Program at the School of Continuing Studies, University of Toronto.

Our featured guests this month are Ranjini George, Rebecca Higgins, and Erika Nielsen.

Well-known Toronto mindfulness expert Ranjini George will open the event with an introduction to the practice of mindfulness as a way of cultivating well-being. She’ll address the specific needs of freelance editors and writers who are dealing with the fluctuating conditions of freelance work. Ranjini will also talk about the power of stories as a means of healing, referencing her 2016 book, Through My Mother’s Window: Emirati Women Tell their Stories and Recipes.

Next, we’ll hear from Toronto author Rebecca Higgins, who will speak about the intersections between her 2018 debut collection of short fiction, The Colours of Birds (Tightrope Books), and her activities as a mental health educat or. Rebecca will do a reading; share insights from her mental health work; and discuss her journey through the writing process, from first draft to a published book.

Lastly, we’ll hear from concert cellist and debut author Erika Nielsen about what it was like to be diagnosed with bipolar illness just as she was hitting her stride as a professional musician. Drawing from her newly published memoir, Sound Mind: My Bipolar Journey from Chaos to Composure (Trigger Publishing, 2019), Erika will talk about the wellness strategies and regimens she has used to walk herself back to a place of balance and stability. She will discuss some of the obstacles and challenges she faced in writing her memoir and why she felt she had to write her story. In a special addition to the evening’s celebration, Erika will also perform on cello.

All three speakers will take questions during a short Q&A. And we’ll raffle off some fabulous, wellness-themed prizes, with all proceeds going to benefit emerging writers through the Creative Writing Bursary in the School of Continuing Studies at UofT.

Raffle tickets are $2 each, $5/three, or $10/seven, and can be purchased on the event website and at the venue. Raffle winners must be present at the event or be represented by someone who holds their ticket to claim their prize.

Location:

Room 1050, Earth Sciences Centre

33 Willcocks St., University of Toronto

Use this handy visual tool to find the venue: classfind.com/toronto/room/ES1050