Awards

• Winner of Governor General's Literary Award - Nonfiction 2019

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Reviews

WINNER OF THE 2019 GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD IN NON-FICTION To The River: Losing My Brother is haunting, beautifully written and rightly hesitant about any certainties regarding an act as ultimately unknowable in social terms as it is in individual decisions. --Brian Bethune, Maclean's Gillmor took on the thankless, though compelling, existential task of understanding another man's life, happiness and grief. And what makes it worth leaving. --The Globe and Mail [T]he book frequently shifts, seamlessly, from the brothers' stories to a wider perspective. As he explores the cultural, sociological and psychological questions surrounding suicide, Gillmor circles ever closer to an answer to the central question of those left behind: why? On the way, he draws back the curtain on a subject too little discussed. . . . To the River is a family story, focused on a brother's love and loss. It is a keen-edged, frank book, beautiful and unflinching, painful but important. --The Peterborough Examiner As he explores the cultural, sociological and psychological questions surrounding suicide, Gillmor circles ever closer to an answer to the central question of those left behind: Why? On the way, he draws back the curtain on a subject too little discussed. . . . At its heart, though, To the River is a family story, focused on a brother's love and loss. It is a keen-edged, frank book, beautiful and unflinching, painful and important. --Robert J. Wiersema, author of Seven Crow Stories, Toronto Star Don Gillmor offers us far more than a portrait of his lost brother--he invites us to contemplate our own hidden interiors. To the River is a clear-eyed, unsentimental journey to the edge of an oblivion so many of us quietly skirt. Deeply personal, broadly researched and beautifully, beautifully written. --Daemon Fairless, author of Mad Blood Stirring A beautiful, shattering book. Wise and honest, and exquisitely written. Insight for anyone who has known the gnawing sorrow or the endless accusation of a senseless loss. It will also make you laugh out loud. Go figure. --Linden MacIntyre, Scotiabank Giller-prize winning author of The Bishop's Man

WINNER OF THE 2019 GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD IN NON-FICTION “To The River: Losing My Brother is haunting, beautifully written and rightly hesitant about any certainties regarding an act as ultimately unknowable in social terms as it is in individual decisions.” —Brian Bethune, Maclean’s “Gillmor took on the thankless, though compelling, existential task of understanding another man’s life, happiness and grief. And what makes it worth leaving.” —The Globe and Mail “[T]he book frequently shifts, seamlessly, from the brothers’ stories to a wider perspective. As he explores the cultural, sociological and psychological questions surrounding suicide, Gillmor circles ever closer to an answer to the central question of those left behind: why? On the way, he draws back the curtain on a subject too little discussed. . . . To the River is a family story, focused on a brother's love and loss. It is a keen-edged, frank book, beautiful and unflinching, painful but important.” —The Peterborough Examiner “As he explores the cultural, sociological and psychological questions surrounding suicide, Gillmor circles ever closer to an answer to the central question of those left behind: Why? On the way, he draws back the curtain on a subject too little discussed. . . . At its heart, though, To the River is a family story, focused on a brother’s love and loss. It is a keen-edged, frank book, beautiful and unflinching, painful and important.” —Robert J. Wiersema, author of Seven Crow Stories, Toronto Star “Don Gillmor offers us far more than a portrait of his lost brother—he invites us to contemplate our own hidden interiors. To the River is a clear-eyed, unsentimental journey to the edge of an oblivion so many of us quietly skirt. Deeply personal, broadly researched and beautifully, beautifully written.” —Daemon Fairless, author of Mad Blood Stirring   “A beautiful, shattering book. Wise and honest, and exquisitely written. Insight for anyone who has known the gnawing sorrow or the endless accusation of a senseless loss. It will also make you laugh out loud. Go figure.” —Linden MacIntyre, Scotiabank Giller–prize winning author of The Bishop’s Man

Author Information

DON GILLMOR is one of Canada's most accomplished writers. His most recent book, To the River, won the Governor General's Literary Award for Non-fiction, and his previous journalism on suicide earned him both a National Newspaper Award and a National Magazine Award. Gillmor is also the author of the bestselling, award-winning two-volume Canada: A People's History, and his other books include the novels Kanata, Mount Pleasant and Long Change, which were published to critical acclaim. Two of the nine books he's written for children were nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two children.

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