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Jan.29.2020Booksshare

Healing Words:
A Conversation with Lara Margaret Marjerrison

Canadian writer Lara Margaret Marjerrison spoke to us ahead of Bell Let’s Talk Day about her debut book of poetry, Grief & Loss & Love & Sex, and how she hopes it offers a glimmer of light for those who need it most.

By Amy Grief

Lara Margaret Marjerrison’s book of poetry, Grief & Loss & Love & Sex, is a bittersweet dream come true. After her sister Catherine died by suicide in January 2018, Marjerrison traveled from her home in Toronto to Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas in an attempt to heal. While there, the words that formed her book of poetry poured out, allowing her to find a sense of peace—and to share her own process of grappling with her sister’s death. Whether through reading or spoken word performances, Marjerrison hopes her poetry can act as a light in the darkness for those who need it most. Ahead of Bell Let’s Talk Day, an initiative aimed at started conversations about mental health, Marjerrison spoke with us about her debut poetry collection and how she moved from surviving—to thriving.

Q

You have a poem called the Butterfly Effect, about how everything we do effects those around us—for instance, scrolling past a post from Lenny Kravitz on Instagram led you to find Eleuthera. What does this concept mean to you in everyday life?

A

“It's about mindfulness in every moment and being vigilant about it. It's about slowing down enough to connect with our environment (natural and otherwise) and the people in it, and pay attention to their impact on us and our impact on them. The choices we make are not made in a vacuum. They have an effect, like ripples on the surface of a pond after a pebble has been dropped in. We may not be able to see where that pebble ends up, but we can see that it had an effect on the pond; that the pond was changed by its introduction.”


Illustration of woman embracing child

“When we connect, we care, when we care, we take better care.”

—Lara Margaret Marjerrison

“I have this saying, when we connect, we care, when we care, we take better care of ourselves. Of one another, of the planet. So for me, it’s that. It’s about slowing down and paying attention. Noticing that. Connecting to it. Instead of just whizzing past everything.”

Q

You write about how after attempting to take your own life, you had a realization and decided to move from merely surviving to thriving. What does that mean to you?

A

“For me the foundation of it all, as in Maslow's Hierarchy, is attending to the basics: a safe home that provides a haven from the madness of the world, nutritious food, water, time in nature, time spent in motion (moving the body) for blood flow and exercise, a clear head, and all the inherent benefits. Self-care is rarely very glamorous. It's really about getting enough sleep, taking your vitamins, drinking enough water, nourishing your cells, so that you have the energy and stamina to deal with whatever else is going to happen outside your four walls. Beyond that, it's about determining what makes you happy and what your personal definition of success looks like. It's about assessing where you're spending your energy and with whom, and eliminating the activities and people that detract from your sense of thrival.”


Photo of Lara Margaret Marjerrison with illustrated paint splotches on top

“I want everyone to know they’re not alone. That’s an illusion.”

— Lara Margaret Marjerrison

“I think for every single person that definition of thrival is going to be different, for me it’s freedom and it’s internal peace. I’m acutely aware of the fact that privilege afforded me that. That’s another source of my frustration with the bigger picture, because I believe it’s everyone’s birthright to live in bliss, to live in a state of thrival.”

Q

What do you hope readers
take away from your book?

A

“My hope is that it shines a little light into darkness because I know how dark the darkness can be, and I want everyone to know they’re not alone. That’s an illusion.I also hope it might spark some dialogue, online and offline; that it might connect people somehow. I'd like to find ways to facilitate some of those connections, through readings and performances, workshops and retreats, to create a greater sense of community and belonging.”

If you or anyone you know is at risk, please find below a list of resources for where to get 24/7 help:

  • For suicide crisis and prevention: Call 9-1-1 or get support from a local crisis centre
  • Kids Help Phone
  • First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness Help Line
  • 1 866 APPELLE (Quebec residents)
  • Canada Suicide Prevention Service (1-833-456-4566)

Cover of the book, Grief & Loss & Love & Sex by Lara Margaret Marjerrison
Grief & Loss & Love & Sex by Lara Margaret Marjerrison Shop

$2 from every copy of Grief & Loss & Love & Sex sold in-store and on indigo.ca from Jan 28 to Feb 28, 2021, will go to the Canadian Mental Health Association.


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