After the Book Ends

Imagine being hospitalized for an eating disorder at 15 years old. Then, imagine your mom being diagnosed with a debilitating mental illness. In her short life, Michelle has experienced a lot, including losing her mom at a young age, picking cherries in west Canada to writing a story about her struggles with an eating disorder. Please take a listen to this honest conversation.

Besides being the creator of the award-winning CBC series Little Mosque on the Prairie, Zarqa is an accomplished journalist and author. Her book, Laughing All the Way to the Mosque is a national best seller and was shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock medal for humour. 

Tapping in all the way from Saskatchewan, I had the pleasure of chatting with Zarqa, learning that her first attempt at novel writing was met with trepidation from her publisher for being too crazy! Who knew that a woman Muslim writer could be too edgy for a mainstream publisher? Learn what she called her book and what she is working on now in Episode 4 of After the Book Ends.

A former medic in the Canadian Armed Forces, a civilian paramedic, and a podcaster extraordinaire are all phrases that accurately describe author Matthew Heneghan. With PTSD awareness day coming up on June 27, we thought it fitting we talk with this incredibly talented writer who, incidentally, also deals with symptoms related to post-traumatic stress.. 

In episode 3, we learn what prompted Matt to enter rehab right after the acceptance of his story "Sunburn" into the anthology Brainstorm Revolution. We also learn what crazy gift his friend Simon sent him while he was on the "inside."

Be sure to read Matt's blog at www.amedicsmind.com. You can also pre-order his book, A Medic's Mind on Indigo.ca. 

What do owls, Colin Mochrie, John Travolta and Cop #3 in the movie Hairspray all have in common? The answer is Neil Crone. So excited to chat with him about his life after treatment for colon cancer, and his new and fascinating projects including The Ninth (streaming on CBC's GEM) and The Endings (coming soon). 

Neil is an award-winning author and writes a weekly column for Metroland News in Durham Region. He is the pen behind the children's books The Farmers' Secret Midnight Dance and the ever-popular Who Farted: Stories in Verse for Big and Little People. For adults, there is a collection of his essays called Enter Laughing: The Early Years and the book we talk about today, Semi-Colon: A Writer's Cheeky Journey Through Colorectal Cancer. You can find or order these titles through fine bookselling establishments everywhere!

You can also book Neil's comedy troupe, The Yes Men, a group that includes Neil Crone, Patrick McKenna, and Kevin Frank. He actually gave the wrong URL for his website in the podcast (yeah, it happens) so if you want to know more, please click here.

To find out more about those lovely beeswax food wraps that Neil's partner Kathryn makes, check it out here.

Hope you enjoy the first-ever episode of After the Book Ends. Please connect @AftertheBookEnds on all social media except Twitter. We are @AftertheBook on Twitter because, well, it's Twitter.  

If you are a nonfiction writer and are published by a traditional publisher and would like to be given consideration to be a guest on the show, please shoot me a line by messaging me at After the Book Ends.