New book: Outside the Gate, a memoir by June Smith

Hi, Brian.

My memoir, Outside the Gate, has finally been published. Before the Pandemic I was part of your in-person classes here in Burlington. Then the pandemic hit and we met by zoom. It has been quite a journey as you have guided and edited many chapters of the book. You and the critique classes and the students who shared their insight helped to make this happen.

June Smith

https://www.outsidethegate.ca/

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Outside the Gate

Silenced once but silent no more, June tells her true story. At four years old, June was separated from her mother and her brother, Freddie. She and Freddie were thrown under the wheels of the child welfare system and they and their mother were forever lost to one another. 

Now June raises her voice and invites the world to go with her on the journey as a Ward of the Crown in Ontario, Canada. She tells her tragic story of a child born outside the gate. Moving from her pleasant early years in one of the last standing orphanages in Canada, she enters the foster care system. There she experiences violence and cruelty that threatens her life.

This is a story of survival, a voice raised in memory of all children who have lost the battle and  for the children who are still suffering. Throwing off the dark clothes of shame and fear, June invites you to join her in her dance of freedom.

Available from Amazon here.

See all of Brian’s upcoming weekly writing classes, one-day workshops, and weekend retreats here.