Read. Watch. Listen. introduces you the personal side of our faculty, staff and alumni. Participants are asked to answer three simple questions about their reading, viewing and listening habits – what one book or newspaper/magazine article is grabbing your attention; what one movie or television show has caught your eye; and what album/song, podcast or radio show are you lending an ear to.
Stephanie Hayne Beatty in the Associate Director (Experiential Learning).
Today, she takes her turn on Read. Watch. Listen.
Read.
I count myself fortunate to be a member of a wonderful book club made up of seven Western female colleagues. Our June 2018 read was The Boat People by debut novelist and Canada Reads finalist Sharon Bala. A reviewer calls it a “meditation on empathy” and I couldn’t agree more. Illuminating three perspectives of individuals connected to a boat of refugees arriving on Vancouver’s shore, the author demands that readers reflect on how we assess right and wrong, and how we care for family, friends, and perfect strangers.
Watch.
The Netflix Original The Letdown had me laughing through tears as it chronicles the life of new mother, Audrey. With my son about to turn 5, the trials and tribulations of raising an infant aren’t yet faded from memory. This touching comedy is pitch-perfect and honours all the feels – not being able to keep up with moms who seem to have it all together, yearning for adult interaction and failing at it miserably, and navigating unsolicited parenting advice.
Listen.
Canadian singer-songwriter Donovan Woods is the latest stealer of my folk-loving heart. Sarnia-born Woods has built a career writing songs for other musicians, including Alan Doyle and Tim McGraw. Nowadays, he keeps some of his very best tunes for himself. His latest album, Both Ways, is a collection of heartfelt and relatable melodies, and none more beautiful than his duet with Rose Cousins, called I Ain’t Ever Loved No One.
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If you have a suggestion for someone you would like to see in Read. Watch. Listen., or would like to participate yourself, drop a line to inside.western@uwo.ca.