As we all continue to adapt to new ways of living amidst various stages of isolation and lockdown, many find ourselves yearning as strongly as ever for human connection. Join award-winning writer Frances Itani for a conversation with Susan G. Cole about celebrating the people in our lives, life’s surprises and finding meaningful connection from those who come into our lives, even in small ways. Itani is an Order of Canada recipient and three-time winner of the CBC Literary Award, presenting her latest book The Company We Keep.

Interviewer: Susan G. Cole

On Tuesday nights in the backroom of Cassie’s café, six strangers seek solace and find themselves part of a “Company of Good Cheer.” Hazzley is at loose ends, even three years after the death of her husband. When her longtime friend Cassandra, café owner and occasional dance-class partner, suggests that she start up a conversation group, Hazzley posts a notice on the community board at the local grocery store. As these strangers tell their stories, they must navigate what is shared and what is withheld. This moving, funny and deeply empathic novel reminds us that life, with all its twists and turns, never loses its capacity to surprise.

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