The winners of the annual awards will be announced prior to the Canada Prizes ceremony on May 7, from 4:30 to 5:30pm, at the Centre of Excellence for French-language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education at 91亚色鈥檚 Glendon campus. The ceremony will be followed by a reception. The selection of Glendon as the site for the ceremony is the result of a new partnership with the Federation for the Humanities & Social Sciences and 91亚色. Members of the 91亚色 community are invited to attend the Canada Prizes ceremony, RSVP online听(Event Code: 882)听by May 5.

Lisa Philipps

鈥淕lendon was identified as an ideal location to host this national event in light of its bilingual mandate and its unique focus on education in the humanities and social sciences. We are really excited to be working with the federation to celebrate the excellence of Canadian scholarship in these disciplines,鈥� said Lisa Philipps, AVP research and a member of the federation鈥檚 board.

The Canada Prizes are adjudicated by a group of leading academics and public intellectuals, as exemplified by this year鈥檚 distinguished jury panel, which includes previous winners of the award.听 Michael Adams, CEO of Environics and a juror for this year鈥檚 Canada Prize in the Social Sciences, will give keynote remarks at the event.

This year, Wilderness and Waterpower: How Banff National Park Became a Hydroelectric Storage Reservoir (2013, University of Calgary Press) authored 91亚色 Professor Emeritus of History Christopher Armstrong with 91亚色 Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of History Viv H. Nelles, and Autonomous State: The Struggle for a Canadian Car Industry from OPEC to Free Trade (2013, University of Toronto Press) by 91亚色 alumnus Dimitry Anastakis (MA 鈥�95, PhD 鈥�02), are in the running for a Canada Prize.

Wilderness and Waterpower: How Banff National Park Became a Hydroelectric Storage Reservoir explores how the need for electricity at the turn of the century affected and shaped Banff National Park. It tells the story of Alberta's early need for electricity, entrepreneurial greed, debates over Aboriginal ownership of the river, moving park boundaries to accommodate hydro-electric initiatives, the importance of water for tourism, rural electrification, and the ultimate diversion to coal-produced electricity. It is also a lively national story, involving the irrepressible and impetuous Max Aitkin (later Lord Beaverbook), R.B. Bennett (local legal advisor and later prime minister), and a series of local politicians and bureaucrats whose contributions confuse and conflate issues along the way. (Source: University of Calgary Press)

Autonomous State: The Struggle for a Canadian Car Industry from OPEC to Free Trade听provides the first detailed examination of the Canadian auto industry, the country鈥檚 most important economic sector, in the post-war period. In his book, Anastakis, who is professor of history at Trent University in Peterborough, Ont., chronicles the industry鈥檚 evolution from the 1973 OPEC embargo to the 1989 Canada鈥揢S Free Trade Agreement and looks at its effects on public policy, diplomacy, business enterprise, workers, consumers, and firms. Using an immense array of archival sources, and interviews with some of the key actors in the events, Anastakis examines important topics in recent auto industry and Canadian business and economic history.

Awarded annually by the Federation, the celebrate the best Canadian scholarly books鈥攏ot simply within a single academic discipline, but across all the disciplines of the humanities and social sciences. The prizes are awarded to books that make an exceptional contribution to scholarship, are engagingly written, and enrich the social, cultural and intellectual life of Canada.

To learn more about the other books short listed for the prizes, visit the website.

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"The series is听open to the 91亚色 community, as well as听members of the听public, and makes for the best Tuesday night date I can think of," says 91亚色 humanities Professor Gail Vanstone. "Where else are you going to hear some of Canada's most exciting literary figures for free other than attending the Canadian Writers in Person Lecture听series."

The series features 11听Canadian authors who will present their work,听respond to questions from the audience and听sign books. All听readings are part of听a degree credit course on Canadian literary culture offered by the Culture & Expression Program in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies. You don't have to enrol in the course to attend the readings.

This year features an eclectic mix of new and established writers.

Author Zoe Whittall has been called 鈥溾�he cockiest, brashest, funniest, toughest, most life-affirming, elegant, scruffy, no-holds-barred writer to emerge from Montreal since Mordecai Richler鈥︹�� by The Globe and Mail will kick off the reading series on Tuesday. She will read from the听Lambda award-winning Holding Still For As Long As Possible. Award-winning poet Karen Solie will present her听collection of poetry, Pigeon.听

Don McKay has published 10 previous works of poetry and is the听winner of听several awards, including the 2011 Griffin听Poetry Award and听two Governor General鈥檚 Literary Awards for Poetry. He will read from his newest collection, Paradoxides.听James Bartleman, a Canadian diplomat, author and听the 27th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (2002 to 2007), will read from his听compelling debut novel, As Long as the Rivers Flow, which explores the consequences of Canada's residential school system. 91亚色 alumna Suzanne Desrochers returns to her alma mater to read from her bestselling novel,听Bride of New France, a rich and imaginative novel about a young French woman who must survive the harsh landscape of the new world.听

Suzette Mayr is the author of four novels. She will听read from听Monoceros, which was long listed for the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize.听The Perfect Order of Things is the title of Canadian journalist David Gilmour's book. It听speaks to a man's journey back in time to reexamine those critical moments that created him. 91亚色 Professor听and poet Patricia Keeney will read from First Woman, a collection of poetry that continues her personal journeys inward and across the world.

Renowned Canadian writer Esi Edugyan will read from her听award-winning novel,听Half Blood Blues,听an electric, heart-breaking story about music, race, love and loyalty. It听won the听2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize for Fiction and was shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize. Patrick deWitt will read from his听second book, The Sisters Brothers, which听was also shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize, the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and the 2011 Governor General's Award for Fiction (English language).

Irish born playwright, author and literary historian Emma Donaghue听will read from her bestselling novel Room, which won the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. Room was shortlisted for the 2010 Man Booker Prize and the 2010 Governor General's Literary Awards and was the winner of the 2010听Irish Book Award.

For more details and the complete schedule of writers鈥� appearances, visit the Canadian Writers in Person website or听contact Professor Gail Vanstone at ext. 33957.

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Multimedia experiments often use short texts because readers seem unlikely to tolerate long passages of type in a video or interactive environment. "Maybe the chunk is not the chapter; maybe the chunk is the paragraph, and one paragraph can lead to more, different paragraphs," says Caitlin Fisher, Canada Research Chair in Digital Culture at 91亚色 [Faculty of Fine Arts], who used that approach in her 2001 multimedia novella These Waves of Girls. "People have been figuring out how to get their message onto a single screen. It makes some writing better and some writing worse."

91亚色's Fisher agrees that the issue is how to draw the reader through the text. "It's interesting to say maybe people would navigate your novel like a game environment," she says. "People find a game environment compelling. [But] does it always have to be a puzzle or maze? Could great writing draw you through it?... We don't have serious writers experimenting with it."

Fisher also notes how seductive video is, hoping books will not simply be replaced by some version of interactive film or augmented reality. "We have this push that all literature can become movies. Everyone can cheaply make and edit moving pictures. It is pushing out interesting experiments in writing."

"I'd be happy to purchase an $80 electronic novel that promised to take me places I hadn't been before, but it's a hard sell," says Fisher, who wants to see writers making technology work for them rather than technology shaping the form. "It is crucial writers be there asking what kind of tools might be useful...and not just accept what computer science hands them."

Posted by Arielle Zomer, research communications officer,听with files听courtesy of YFile鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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Hyndman was in Sri Lanka within months of the 2004 tsunami. She saw first-hand not only the devastation wrought by the tsunami, but the complications of delivering humanitarian aid in areas of Sri Lanka and Indonesia that were already conflict-riddled and impoverished. She also witnessed how the natural and man-made disasters intersected to change the political dynamics of both countries 鈥� a peace accord in Indonesia and the end of war in Sri Lanka between the government and the Tamils.

Her experiences led to听the recently released book, and companion videos by Hyndman and geographer and humanitarian aid worker听Arno Waizenegger,听 and . To watch the first video, enter the password, "Lhokse". Waizenegger also co-wrote听one of the book's听chapters with Hyndman.

The earthquake-triggered tsunami is estimated to have killed or displaced more than one million people 鈥撎齮hree women for every man 鈥撎齛nd billions in donations flowed in for relief efforts. Dual Disasters addresses pre- and post-humanitarian aid concerns and offers suggestions that are still relevant today.

鈥淚 examine two war zones that were then hit by the 2004 tsunami and trace how the conflict and the environmental disaster shaped one another in terms of outcomes,鈥� says Hyndman of 91亚色's Department of Social Sciences in the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, who has studied humanitarian emergencies, conflict-related human disaster and displacement for more than a decade. For the book, she focused specifically on Sri Lanka and Aceh, Indonesia.

Left: Jennifer Hyndman

The book examines the inequitable听delivery of humanitarian aid, but also looks at听how the听cultural and political situation in both countries played into that. If more aid听was given to the coastal areas of Sri Lanka, because of their tourist appeal, than to the people in the hinterland, who are hardest hit by war, that imbalance created a 鈥減otential and real threat to peace.鈥澨齋imilarly in听Aceh, Indonesia, international tsunami aid听was earmarked exclusively for tsunami survivors and not for civilians who had lost their homes and livelihoods in the decades old conflict. This became the cause听of tensions and threats recorded in the book by Hyndman and her research assistants.

The problem was that听aid agencies had little latitude to spend donated money.听As it's often designated for specific things,听some agencies collected more money than they could ethically spend, she says. That led to the hiring of sub-contractors who not only didn鈥檛 necessarily do the best job, but it also made it more difficult to monitor the funds. This could be remedied if donors gave aid agencies more leverage to spend their donations where needed, says Hyndman, associate director of the .

In addition, aid workers can unintentionally become wrapped up in the politics.听鈥淵ou need to pay very close attention to the political climate, otherwise you can become a political player in what you think is a humanitarian operation.鈥� That can play out in as simple an act as talking to people living on one side of a road. What the aid workers may not听realize is that the people on one side听of the road are enemies with those on the opposite side, and the workers are seen as allies to one side only.听鈥淭he unintended result is that humanitarian aid can actually fuel a conflict or create tensions."

Or, as in the case of the water pumps, what seemed like an easy and fast solution 鈥� provide villages with water pumps so they no longer had to dig wells 鈥� turned out to be not so听simple in an area of Sri Lanka where tensions were already high between various factions. Bringing in water pumps heightened conflicting interests, instead of听making听life easier. 鈥淪o unintentionally, a benign water project can fuel a war.鈥�

It is just as important for aid workers to be aware of a country's cultural practices.听One aid agency built much-needed, but culturally inappropriate听housing. The new houses only had one room, when two were required to keep the women separate from the men. Hyndman says many of these issues could be avoided by providing regional cultural and political sensitivity orientation and training to humanitarian aid workers.

Competition between aid agencies for donor dollars was another issue raised by the book, but it has, at least in Canada, been addressed to some extent. Care Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam Quebec and Save the Children formed a coalition after the 2004 tsunami to work together.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an excellent step in the right direction,鈥� says Hyndman.

For more information, visit the .

By Sandra McLean, YFile writer

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In his new book, , Professor (right) clarifies the fundamentals and importance of CSR and details how a conscientious way of doing business is possible in today鈥檚 profit-driven world.

As a teacher of business ethics and corporate social responsibility at the School of Administrative Studies in 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, Schwartz felt that students needed a book that examined the ethical obligations of a business and which approach is the most appropriate for a company.

鈥淏usiness students 鈥� when they end up becoming managers, executives and CEOs of their company 鈥� are going to be making important decisions,鈥� explains Schwartz. 鈥淚t鈥檚 critical for them to have a theoretical position on this debate, which will help guide them to more ethical and socially responsible decisions.鈥�

In his book, Schwartz focuses on several aspects to clarify CSR: the key moral standards that need to be applied in a business decision; the debate between narrow (or profit-based) CSR and broader (or ethics-based) CSR; an examination of the separate and intertwined economic, legal and ethical obligations of a company; and the belief that companies need to engage in providing goods and services that generate value to society in a balanced manner, while remaining accountable to stakeholders.

Looking at four classic, high-profile case studies 鈥� the , , and 鈥� students can apply their own ethical beliefs to decide on the best outcome. 鈥淢any students may discover their theoretical position doesn鈥檛 match what they would do when faced with a real business case,鈥� says Schwartz. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the main goal of the book: to force students or managers to realize there are implications with their position on social responsibility.鈥�

Movie villain Gordon Gekko鈥檚 鈥済reed is good鈥� credo and the rise of Wall Street showed us the conflict between making money and being ethical; it鈥檚 a constant struggle in business. With MBA graduates entering the workforce in unprecedented numbers, how can we expect business people to choose? In his book, Schwartz proves they don鈥檛 have to.

鈥淏usiness students should make money 鈥� it鈥檚 OK to make money. I think the real question is prioritization,鈥� says Schwartz. 鈥淎re you maximizing profit at the expense of harming others? Students need to recognize that they have ethical obligations when they go out into the workplace.鈥�

Although Schwartz recognizes that 鈥済ood CSR does not always maximize the bottom line,鈥� it鈥檚 the long-term effects on the business, its employees, customers and the environment that should be taken into consideration. 鈥淓thics should still take priority to the bottom line when there is a conflict,鈥� he says.

Listen to Schwartz speak about his book:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJMpw1ebVos

CSR can be complex, with room for potential misinterpretation. By demystifying the topic, Schwartz听has provided students with information they need to听grasp the concepts and understand how to implement them successfully. Armed with this knowledge, students choose their own way of achieving ethics in business.

鈥淭here is a need for a greater awareness in terms of what the ethical obligations are. It鈥檚 not simply maximizing the bottom line and abiding by the law. Ethics goes beyond the law.鈥�

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Readings of short excerpts of each of the three plays, considered an intertwining memory, violence, creativity, belonging and dispossession during a ten-year period in Jamaica, will take place June 6 at 7pm, following the launch at Trane Studio, 964 Bathurst St. (north of Bloor St.) in Toronto. Finger food and a cash bar will be available.

The three plays are: Masqueraders by Stafford Ashani, Whiplash by Ginger Knight and Fallen Angel and the Devil Concubine by Patricia Cumper, Ford-Smith, Carol Lawes, Hertencer Lindsay and Eugene Williams.

Fallen Angel and the Devil Concubine is an adaptation of Ford-Smith鈥檚 collection of poems set in Jamaica and Canada, My Mother's Last Dance (Sister Vision Press, 1996).

Ford-Smith is a scholar, theatre worker and poet educated in Jamaica. She is co-founder and artistic director of (Sisters), a theatre collective of mainly working-class Jamaican women that work in community theatre and popular education. She was also a member of the Groundwork Theatre Company, created in 1980 as the repertory arm of the Jamaica School of Drama. She moved to Toronto in 1991, where she continues to write, work in performance and teach.

The book's launch was also covered by reviewer Michael Reckord in Jamaica鈥檚 June 5.

To RSVP to the launch, e-mail 3jamaicanplays@gmail.com.

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This is the third time Uppal (BA Hons. 鈥�97, PhD 鈥�04) has collaborated with Ehrenworth, a former听fine arts and cultural studies听student at 91亚色. The book, Curse. Sleep., is a manifestation of an earlier exhibit by the pair and will launch on Thursday, June 2, from 5 to 7pm at Sweaty Betty鈥檚, 13 Ossington Ave., Toronto. The event is free and everyone is welcome. The book is designed by Justin Broadbent.

Written in cursive under another photo with a willowy impression of sunlight against a fence, it says, 鈥淢y mother still asks about you.鈥� 鈥淭hey鈥檙e inner confessions,鈥� says . Unlike the full lyrical poems she wrote for Ehrenworth鈥檚 2003 exhibit Holocaust Dream, which was also made into a book, this time they are brief poetic expressions that help tell the story of a boy and a girl, two halves of the same person, struggling to return to wholeness after an unnamed trauma splits them apart.

Left: Art and poetry run together in the book, Curse. Sleep. (That鈥檚 the Thing About Trouble)

鈥淭here鈥檚 very much a graffiti feel to the writing,鈥� says Uppal. Most of the art from the exhibit is in an eclectic mix of sizes and dimensions, but the writing doesn鈥檛 necessary correspond to the piece closest to it. 鈥淭hey are almost free floating between images,鈥� says Uppal. 鈥淪o the narrative is a little different from the exhibit. They are scattered like a dreamscape,听as if听you can hear some sounds, but can鈥檛 quite make them out. The impact is still haunting.鈥�

It is with this work that Ehrenworth has returned to his photographic exploration of dream states, trauma, sexuality and texture. He is currently at work on Curse. Sleep. (Away Away Away), the second part in the Curse. Sleep. trilogy, expected in 2013.

And Uppal has provided 鈥渢he verbal subtext, which goes along with the images.鈥�

Right: Artist Daniel Ehrenworth and English Professor Priscila Uppal collaborated on an exhibition, which led to听the new book

Uppal鈥檚 publications include seven collections of poetry, including the Griffin Poetry Prize shortlisted Ontological Necessities (Exile Editions, 2006), Traumatology (Exile Editions, 2010), Winter Sport: Poems (Mansfield Press, 2010) and Successful Tragedies: Poems 1998-2010 (Bloodaxe Books, 2010). She is also author of critically acclaimed novels The Divine Economy of Salvation (Algonquin Books, 2002) and To Whom It May Concern (Doubleday Canada, 2009); and the study We Are What We Mourn: The Contemporary English-Canadian Elegy (McGill-Queen鈥檚 University Press, 2009). She was poet-in-residence for Canadian Athletes Now during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic games. She was dubbed 鈥淐anada鈥檚 coolest poet鈥� by Time Out London.

Ehrenworth works as both a commercial photographer and a photo-based artist in Toronto, Canada. He has exhibited work at numerous galleries across Canada and was the co-curator of Stranger than Fiction: The Delicate Art of Faking History at the Forest City Gallery in 2007. His artwork has been published in Maisonneuve, Applied Arts, Black and White Magazine, numerous art blogs, and is collected among various private collectors throughout Canada and the United States. He has also won awards for his commercial work.

For more information or to order听the book,听Curse. Sleep. (That鈥檚 the Thing About Trouble), visit 鈥檚 website or contact him at dan@dephoto.org.

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The 21st Century Motherhood Movement: Mothers Speak Out on Why We Need to Change the World and How to Do It, released this week, is touted as the first anthology of its kind. Published by , it features more than 80 chapters representing motherhood organizations from around the globe.

鈥淲e need to encourage people to look at motherhood as an autonomous social movement, much in the same way feminism has been framed in the past,鈥� says the book鈥檚 editor, 91亚色 women's studies Professor Andrea O鈥橰eilly in the听Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies.

鈥淢others are becoming activists out of necessity,鈥� she says. 鈥淏eing a mother is still one of the most demanding jobs out there; we need to keep pushing for a shift in thinking so the roles and responsibilities of motherhood are given the value they deserve. Motherhood organizations, such as the ones profiled in this book, empower mothers to transform the society in which they live in order to improve their own lives.鈥�

Part of this challenge is tackling 鈥渋nvisimomibility鈥� 鈥� the chronic and pervasive undervaluing of mothers鈥� unpaid care giving. 鈥淭his leads to an inability to successfully fulfill one's care giving, civic and paid work responsibilities and leaves primary caregivers vulnerable to social and economic risk,鈥� says O鈥橰eilly.

Conversely, the term 鈥渕amazon鈥� was coined to describe mothers who refuse to become invisible. 鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about moms who aren鈥檛 afraid to engage in non-traditional behaviours 鈥� to be loud, angry and assertive,鈥� she says.

The 976-page book is divided into seven sections: Becoming a Mother; Maternal Identities; Maternal Advocacy; Maternal Activism; Violence, Militarism, War and Peace; Social Change and Social Justice, and Writing/Researching/Performing Motherhood. It features prominent organizations such as Moms Rising, Mocha Moms, and LGBTQ Parenting Network.

The volume also provides an overview of the history and ideological frameworks of the 21st century motherhood movement, discusses the challenges and possibilities of maternalism, and details the specific practices and strategies of maternal activism.

鈥淭he writings in this anthology show how the 21st century motherhood movement has opened the door to a mother-centered theory and politic of feminism,鈥� says O鈥橰eilly. 鈥淢otherhood is a crucial aspect of feminism that we need to continue to explore both through activism and research.鈥�

By Melissa Hughes, media relations officer. Republished courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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A new book by Osgoode Hall Law School Professor Stepan Wood (LLB '92) and University of Toronto political economist Stephen Clarkson has been nominated for the 's prestigious for the best book on Canadian politics.

Examining Canadians鈥� complicated roles as agents and objects of global forces, shines an urgent light on the dangerous imbalances in contemporary forms of globalized law and governance. From French and British colonial politics to the SARS epidemic, Canadians have long known how it feels to be objects of global forces. But they are also agents who have helped build structures of global governance that have highly uneven impacts on prosperity, human security and the environment.

Right: Stepan Wood

The winner of the 2011 Smiley Prize will be announced at the Canadian Political Science Association Annual Conference in Waterloo, Ontario, on May 17.

A Perilous Imbalance examines Canada's experience of globalization in the context of three interlinked trends: the emergence of a neoconservative global 鈥渟upra-constitution鈥�, the paradoxical retreat and expansion of the Canadian nation-state and the growth of unconventional forms of governance beyond the state. It advocates a revitalization of the state as a vehicle for pursuing human security, ecological integrity and social emancipation, and for creating spaces in which progressive, alternative forms of law and governance can unfold.

With its critical analysis of the challenges faced by middle powers such as Canada in a globalizing world, A Perilous Imbalance further cements Osgoode's pre-eminence in the study of international and transnational legal issues, says Wood. The book has been very well received. Reviewers have praised it as 鈥渟ophisticated, bold and accessible,鈥� 鈥渋mportant reading for anyone seeking to assess Canada鈥檚 legal and political engagement with globalization鈥� and 鈥渁 comprehensive account of Canada鈥檚 entanglement with globalization鈥檚 legal rules and institutions.鈥�

The Smiley Prize honours the life and work of the late Donald V. Smiley (1921-1990), a leading Canadian political scientist and former Professor Emeritus at 91亚色. It is awarded each year to the best book published on Canadian government and politics听鈥� one award for an English-language book, one for French.

鈥淚 took an advanced seminar with Professor Smiley when I was an undergraduate political science major at 91亚色 in the 1980s,鈥� recalls Wood. 鈥淗e fostered a challenging yet friendly atmosphere that brought out the best in his students. I feel particularly honoured to be associated with his name again after so many years.鈥�

The book was the fruit of a cross-disciplinary collaboration that began when Wood and Clarkson were both virtual scholars in residence at the now defunct Law Commission of Canada. Working with Clarkson, whose contribution to the study of Canadian and North American political economy was recently recognized with the Order of Canada, was a highly rewarding experience for Wood.

鈥淐ollaborating with Stephen was a pleasure from start to finish,鈥� says Wood. 鈥淥ur very different knowledge and expertise complemented each other nicely and Stephen has been an exceptionally generous and supportive colleague and friend.鈥�

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Pregnant with her third child, she was conducting a series of interviews听as research for听the play, , on loss and how it is transformed, when she lost her son Ethan. 鈥淚 was just struck by how I was immersed in this phenomena and living it at the same time,鈥� she says. I'm Still Here was co-created with 91亚色 nursing Professor Gail Mitchell and playwright Vrenia Ivonoffski.

Right: Christine Jonas-Simpson, holding the children's book she wrote, Ethan's Butterflies

Ethan was stillborn at 38 weeks 鈥� or, as Jonas-Simpson prefers to say, born still 鈥� causing a rent in the universe as she knew it. After the loud silence of her delivery, she remembers hearing a primal scream of agony, realizing some moments later it was coming from her.

Almost a decade later, Jonas-Simpson is about to premiere her third research-based documentary film, about how mothers and their families live with the loss of a child. The premiere will take place Sunday, May 15, from 1 to 3:30pm at the Fox Theatre, 2236 Queen St. E. in Toronto. Tickets are $25 per ticket with proceeds going to Bereaved Families of Ontario-Toronto. To buy tickets, call 416-440-0290 or e-mail info@bfotoronto.ca.

Enduring Love looks at the lives of four women, the agony of loss, the impact the death of their infant has had on them and their families and听how they learned to live with their loss. It also traces听the importance of recognizing their other children are also grieving, the continuing presence of their deceased child in their lives, the rituals they鈥檝e developed and how they not only endured but have been transformed by their loss. Funded by听91亚色's听Faculty of Health and the Health Leadership & Learning Network: Interprofessional Education Initiative Fund, the documentary answers the research question, what is the meaning of living and transforming with loss for mothers who experience the loss of their baby?

As one woman in the film says of her family, it was a 鈥渟eminal event in their lives鈥�; there was a before and an after. The women make the point that many fail to realize that losing their baby, whether at 24 weeks gestation or several weeks after delivery, is a profoundly felt loss that changes, not only them, but their husbands and their children, forever. One of the universally hard moments for these women was going home from the hospital without their baby. It feels so unnatural, says Jonas-Simpson.

It was the experience of losing her own son that guided Jonas-Simpson鈥檚 research toward providing a body of arts-based research for others who experienced perinatal loss. She had often used music in her nursing practice and research, and then began incorporating art, drama听and film. 鈥淲ith grieving and loss it seemed appropriate to keep going with the arts.鈥� Although, she听will write papers on her latest research, she believes presenting her findings with an art-based approach makes it more accessible and touches people in a way a research paper in a journal wouldn鈥檛. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a way of showing the human experience, rather than just telling,鈥� she says.

Being a researcher, I looked at the literature to see what was out there. I was struck by how little there was out there in light of grieving and loss听about mothers鈥� lived experiences. My graduate student, Jennifer Noseworthy, and I are conducting a comprehensive literature review and we鈥檝e only found a few qualitative studies focused on the human lived experience of perinatal loss.鈥� And that moved Jonas-Simpson to conduct research and create resources for others like her.

Enduring Love is her third film. Her first was , while her second, is a short made from footage shot for听Enduring Love, which focuses on the surviving children. 鈥淭hese children have an incredible bond and relationship with the babies,鈥� their siblings who鈥檝e died. Jonas-Simpson recently gave a talk and showed Why Did Baby Die? at a听Women's Health and Mental Wellbeing Speakers Series听event at 91亚色.

Some of the children, as seen in Enduring Love, have drawn family portraits years later that have included their deceased siblings. 鈥淕rieving and loss isn鈥檛 always something we talk about openly, but it is experienced by many, if not all, of us,鈥� says Jonas-Simpson. Even after the physical death, the relationship continues. 鈥淚t鈥檚 still hidden. Perinatal loss is also disenfranchised in our society.鈥� To help grieving children with the loss of a baby sibling, she also wrote the children's book .

Jonas-Simpson started talking about her own experience of losing Ethan, born with vibrant red locks, and how her other two sons, now 11 and 13, have integrated him into their lives as a way to help others. 鈥淭he children integrate this loss very well,鈥� she says. One of her children even wrote a letter to Ethan as a school assignment, asking if there are dinosaurs in heaven and if it hurt to die. The teacher may have been uncomfortable, but Jonas-Simpson says it鈥檚 important to talk about and to understand the continuing relationship following death.

Next, she is hoping to do research on children age three to 18 who are grieving a loss of a baby sibling. Children, she says, are often forgotten about, but they too grieve. 鈥淚f we can be more open about grief and loss as a natural human experience and if we can begin in the schools with that,鈥� it could be really helpful for the children, she says. She would also like to explore the common and听unique threads of grieving around the world.

For more information or to view or buy Jonas-Simpson鈥檚 films, visit the Faculty of Health鈥檚 Living and Transforming with Perinatal Loss website.

By Sandra McLean, YFile writer

Republished courtesy of YFile 鈥� 91亚色鈥檚 daily e-bulletin.

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