Book Launch: Learning to Breathe by Clara Hughes
About this event
Join us for the launch of Learning to Breathe by Clara Hughes, presented by Library and Archives Canada, the Ottawa International Writers Festival, and Ottawa Public Library. Séan McCann will moderate a conversation with the author.
As an elite athlete—and the only person to win multiple medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games—Clara Hughes built a career on pushing through pain, often at great cost to her body and mind. Following her retirement from sport, the mantra ‘‘movement as medicine’’ fuelled her public advocacy for mental health and her personal healing journey. However, Clara’s attraction to extremes persisted: gruelling months-long hikes and bike-packing trips began to take a toll. In 2021, a catastrophic knee injury, compounded by menopausal hot flashes and dizzying mood swings, forced her into stillness. As her physical activity came to an abrupt halt, the depression she had kept at bay for years resurfaced more powerfully than ever.
Learning to Breathe is a vulnerable, funny, wise and fascinating memoir about one human’s healing journey, the terrors and joys of midlife change, and the potential for new beginnings at any stage of life.
About the Author
Six-time Olympic medalist Clara Hughes is the only athlete to have won multiple medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. She is a Member of the Order of Manitoba and an Officer of the Order of Canada, has received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame, and was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. Clara was Canada’s flag bearer at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
A leading advocate for mental health awareness, Hughes was the founding spokesperson for Bell Canada’s Let’s Talk initiative, a campaign dedicated to breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health. In 2014, she was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross in recognition of her outstanding contributions to Canada. In 2022, she was named an Olympian for Life for embodying and promoting Olympic values beyond competition.
Today, Clara lives with her husband, Peter, on Vancouver Island, and continues to enjoy bike touring and hiking.
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