Learning to Breathe
with Clara Hughes
Hosted by Séan McCann
Special Presentation In Person Streaming History Memoir Free
An amazing athlete, a great person, and a wonderful motivating example for all!
Join us as we celebrate the publication of Learning to Breathe: A Memoir by Clara Hughes, the six-time Olympic medalist, celebrated humanitarian, and bestselling author of Open Heart, Open Mind: A story of healing and transformation in midlife.
This event is presented in partnership with the Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada.
As an elite athlete—the only person who has won multiple medals in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games—Clara Hughes thrived on powering through pain, with profound consequences for her body and mind. Following her retirement from sport, the mantra ‘‘movement as medicine’’ fueled her public advocacy for mental health and her personal healing journey. However, Clara’s attraction to extremes persisted: grueling months-long hikes and bike-packing trips began to take a toll. In 2021, a catastrophic knee injury coincided with menopausal hot flashes and dizzying mood swings, forcing her into stillness, and her depression, kept at bay for years, loomed larger than ever.
How do you move forward when the body you’ve always relied on doesn’t bounce back like it used to, when you feel like a stranger to yourself, and the punishing voice in your head won’t stop? Clara sought help through traditional avenues, but after realizing how little support there is for people in menopause, she turned to a different kind of medicine. Enter the world of psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Through guided experiences—some hilarious, some alarming, and some mind-expanding—Clara begins a winding trip back to herself, and to a deeper awareness of the roots of the inner pain she’d suppressed through sport. Along the way, she forges new relationships; begins the work of repairing old ones; and faces long-held fears.
Books are available for purchase from our friends at Perfect Books.
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