Critic’s Choice

Lecture

Critic's Choice Memorial Days

Elaine Newton, Professor Emeritus of Humanities at York University, Toronto

Memorial Days
by Geraldine Brooks

For more than three decades, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks shared a rich life with her husband, writer and journalist Tony Horwitz, raising two sons and supporting each other’s celebrated careers. But when Brooks received a call on Memorial Day in 2019 that Horwitz had collapsed and died, life’s demands stood in the way of her need to grieve. It wasn’t until three years later, alone on the windswept coast of a remote Australian island, that Brooks found the space to mourn — and to reflect on how different cultures confront loss. Memorial Days is a powerful meditation on love, grief and the quiet strength it takes to begin again.

This presentation is part of Elaine Newton's Critic’s Choice series.

Please note: The Thursday lecture will be held in Daniels Pavilion. The Saturday lecture will be held in Hayes Hall.

Elaine Newton

Elaine Newton

For over 40 years, Elaine has planned and conducted adult education courses throughout North America. This is the 36th season of her Critic’s Choice literature series and the 30th anniversary of her Four O’clock at the Movies series. She also initiated and taught the pioneering Artis—Naples seminar discussion program, the Questors, for 12 years. Elaine has worked as a book critic for Toronto’s The Globe and Mail, been a special consultant to the Ontario Library Association, led movie and theater discussions and served as a consultant to the North York Board of Education. She continues to conduct an annual lecture series at the Toronto Public Library and makes frequent guest appearances on TV and radio. Elaine has an enthusiastic and loyal following each season as she offers insightful commentary about contemporary fiction and motion pictures.