Inspiring Hope: A Book Launch and Bell Let’s Talk Day Event
Showplace Theatre,
Cogeco Studio
Wed. January 21 @ 7:00 pm
Guests: Kate Robson and Dr. Thomas Piggott
Moderator: Jennifer Robson
In a conversation moderated by international best-selling author Jennifer Robson, Kate Robson will launch her new book, Something to Hold Onto: Simple Metaphors, Images, and Practical Tools to Transform Your Life, in discussion with Dr. Thomas Piggot, Lakelands Public Health’s Medical Officer of Health.
The Festival’s Major Benefactors, Dr. Patricia and David Morton, are very pleased to sponsor and support this event.
Kate Robson
Kate’s book Something to Hold Onto offers metaphors to reframe our thinking and explore while encouraging us to be curious, attentive, and intentional as we adopt new and creative ways to navigate discomfort and adversity. She asks us to consider the value in deciding that which we should hold tight and what could be let go. The forward in Robson’s book, published by Simon & Schuster, is written by her close friend, Academy Award winning screenwriter, director, actor, and bestselling author Sarah Polley. Born and raised in Peterborough, Kate is a registered psychotherapist in Toronto. Inspired by her own experiences with her children in a neonatal intensive care unit, she worked with babies, parents, and families for more than twelve years as a NICU family support specialist. She’s travelled the world educating parents and clinicians about family-centered care and trauma informed care practices while managing Canada’s largest support community for NICU families. Robson has degrees from McGill University and OISE/UT, and completed her psychotherapy training at the Toronto Institute for Relational Psychotherapy.
Dr. Thomas Piggott
Dr. Piggott is Lakelands Public Health’s Medical Officer of Health and CEO. He is responsible for providing health programs and services in the cities of Kawartha Lakes and Peterborough, Haliburton, Northumberland, and Peterborough counties. He is a public health and preventive medicine specialist and a practicing family physician, who completed his master’s degree in public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and his PhD in Health Research Methods at McMaster University. Dr. Piggott’s research work has focused on guideline development and health equity. He was co-editor of the book Under-Served: Health Determinant of Indigenous, Inner-City, and Migrant Populations in Canada. Dr. Piggott has worked in the Congo, remote areas of northern Labrador, and has advised multiple organizations including the World Health Organization and European Commission.
Jennifer Robson
Moderator Jennifer Robson, along with her sister Kate, grew up in Peterborough. She is the author of seven novels set during and after the world wars including The Gown, Somewhere in France, Moonlight Over Paris, Goodnight from London, and Coronation Year. She also contributed to the acclaimed anthology Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War. Robson was born and raised in Peterborough, studied French Literature and Modern History at King’s University College at Western University, then attended Saint Antony’s College at the University of Oxford, where she obtained a doctorate in British economic and social history.