Run Towards the Danger

Last updated
Run Towards the Danger
Run Towards the Danger.jpg
First edition cover
Author Sarah Polley
IllustratorLauren Tamaki
Cover artistKelly Hill
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
GenreEssays, memoir
PublisherSeptember Publishing
Publication date
1 March 2022
ISBN 978-0593300374

Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory is a 2022 essay collection by Canadian director, screenwriter, and former child actress Sarah Polley. It was published on 1 March 2022 by September Publishing. [1] [2]

Contents

Each of the six essays in the collection examines a traumatic experience endured by Polley. She originally wrote the essays as stand-alone pieces over many years, and in some cases, decades.

The title of the book and the essay of the same name come from advice Polley was given when recovering from a concussion. She writes in the preface that "[t]elling [these stories] is a form of running towards the danger." [3]

Summary

The book is composed of six essays:

Reception

The collection received a positive review from CBC which praised it for "riveting clarity". [4]

Claire Armitstead of The Guardian described the book as "unlike any [memoir] I have ever read", and wrote that it gives "a bruisingly candid and intelligent account of the physical and psychic injuries Polley has suffered and surmounted". [5]

Meghan Daum, writing in The New York Times, gave the book a positive review. She praised the essay "The Woman Who Stayed Silent" in particular, noting Polley's "precision and self-scrutiny". [6]

The Irish Times also gave the book a positive review, praising the "brilliantly written" essays' exploration of "the resilience of the female body, so often a site of struggle but also a site of strength." [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moxy Früvous</span> Canadian comedic folk rock band

Moxy Früvous was a Canadian politically satirical folk-pop band from Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. The band was founded in 1989, and was active until 2001. Common themes in Früvous songs include Canada and the "human experience".

<i>The Adventures of Baron Munchausen</i> 1988 film by Terry Gilliam

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen is a 1988 adventure fantasy film, co-written and directed by Terry Gilliam, starring John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Reed, Robin Williams and Uma Thurman. An international co-production between the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany, the film is based on the tall tales about the 18th-century German nobleman Baron Munchausen and his wartime exploits against the Ottoman Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jian Ghomeshi</span> Canadian broadcaster, writer, musician, and producer

Jian Ghomeshi is a Canadian broadcaster, writer, musician, producer and former CBC personality. From 1990 to 2000, he was a vocalist and drummer in the Thornhill-based folk-pop band Moxy Früvous. In the 2000s, he became a television and radio broadcaster. He hosted, among others, the CBC Newsworld program Play (2002–2005), the CBC Radio One program The National Playlist (2005–2006), and the CBC Radio One program Q, which he co-created and hosted from 2007 to 2014, until he was fired by the CBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Polley</span> Canadian actress, film director and screenwriter

Sarah Ellen Polley is a Canadian filmmaker, writer, political activist and retired actress. She first garnered attention as a child actress for her role as Ramona Quimby in the television series Ramona, based on Beverly Cleary's books. This subsequently led to her role as Sara Stanley in the Canadian television series Road to Avonlea (1990–1996). She has starred in many feature films, including The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), Exotica (1994), The Sweet Hereafter (1997), Guinevere (1999), Go (1999), The Weight of Water (2000), No Such Thing (2001), My Life Without Me (2003), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Splice (2009), and Mr. Nobody (2009).

<i>Guinevere</i> (1999 film) 1999 film directed by Audrey Wells

Guinevere is a 1999 American drama film about the artistic and romantic relationship between a young student and her older mentor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Buruma</span> Dutch writer and editor

Ian Buruma is a Dutch writer and editor who lives and works in the United States. In 2017, he became editor of The New York Review of Books, but left the position in September 2018.

<i>The Secret Life of Words</i> 2005 Spanish film

The Secret Life of Words is a 2005 Spanish-Irish drama film written and directed by Isabel Coixet and starring Sarah Polley, Tim Robbins, Javier Cámara and Julie Christie. It was released on 15 December 2006.

<i>Away from Her</i> 2006 Canadian film

Away from Her is a 2006 Canadian independent drama film written and directed by Sarah Polley and starring Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent. Olympia Dukakis, Michael Murphy, Wendy Crewson, Alberta Watson, and Kristen Thomson are featured in supporting roles. The feature film directorial debut of Polley, it is based on Alice Munro's short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain", from the 2001 collection Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage.

Lucy DeCoutere is a Canadian actress and Royal Canadian Air Force officer, best known for her role as the character Lucy in the television series Trailer Park Boys.

<i>Splice</i> (film) 2009 film by Vincenzo Natali

Splice is a 2009 science fiction horror film directed by Vincenzo Natali and starring Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, and Delphine Chanéac. The story concerns experiments in genetic engineering being done by a young scientific couple, who attempt to introduce human DNA into their work of splicing animal genes resulting in the creation of a human–animal hybrid. Guillermo del Toro, Don Murphy, and Joel Silver are credited as executive producers of this film. Theatrically released on June 4, 2010, the film received generally positive reviews from critics but was commercially unsuccessful, and grossed just $27.1 million against a $30 million production budget.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Stup</span> American writer and advocate (born 1983)

Sarah Stup is an American writer and advocate. She writes about community inclusion, education, and her experience in the world as an autistic woman. Her work includes the children's book Do-Si-Do with Autism, a set of gift books, the poetry and essay collection Are Your Eyes Listening? Collected Works, and the novel Paul and His Beast.

<i>Home</i> (Morrison novel) 2012 novel by Toni Morrison

Home is the tenth novel by the American author Toni Morrison, originally published in 2012 by Alfred A. Knopf. Set in the 1950’s, Morrison's Home rewrites the narrative of the time period. The novel tells the story of 24-year-old war veteran Frank Money as he navigates America amidst his trauma from serving in the Korean War. After receiving a letter that alerts him of the danger his younger sister, Cee, has found herself in, he sets out on a journey back home to Lotus, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meghan Trainor</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1993)

Meghan Elizabeth Trainor is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold 11 million copies worldwide. Trainor has released five studio albums with the label and has received various accolades, including the 2016 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Reva Seth is a Canadian journalist, author, lawyer, strategic communications consultant, speaker, coach and entrepreneur.

<i>Not That Kind of Girl</i> 2014 book by Lena Dunham

Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned" is a 2014 memoir written by Lena Dunham. The book, a collection of autobiographical essays, lists, and emails, was released in hardcover by Random House on September 30, 2014, and in paperback on October 20, 2015.

In late 2014, Canadian radio host Jian Ghomeshi was arrested and charged with four counts of sexual assault, and one count of overcoming resistance by choking, in relation to three complainants. He was charged with three additional counts related to three more women on January 8, 2015. On October 1, 2015, Ghomeshi pleaded not guilty to one count of choking and four counts of sexual assault. The trial began on February 1, 2016. He was acquitted of all five charges on March 24, 2016.

<i>Between Worlds</i> 2018 Spanish film

Between Worlds is a 2018 supernatural thriller film starring Nicolas Cage, and directed by Maria Pulera. The film was released on December 21, 2018, by Saban Films.

<i>Minor Feelings</i> 2020 autobiographical book by Cathy Park Hong

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning is a 2020 autobiographical book of essays written by the Korean American author Cathy Park Hong. It was published by Penguin Random House in the United States and Profile Books in the United Kingdom and is composed of seven essays about growing up as an Asian-American in a Western capitalist society, more specifically in the United States of America. This book won the National Book Critics Circle Award for autobiography in 2020.

<i>An Almond for a Parrot</i> 2016 novel by Sally Gardner

An Almond for a Parrot was published in 2016 by English author Sally Gardner under the pseudonym Wray Delaney, this is an adult novel set in London in 1756, and has been described as an erotic fairytale. It takes its title from a tract by Elizabethan writer Thomas Nashe.

<i>Women Talking</i> (soundtrack) 2022 soundtrack album by Hildur Guðnadóttir

Women Talking (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the score album composed by Hildur Guðnadóttir for the 2022 film of the same name, directed by Sarah Polley, based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Miriam Toews. The film stars Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Judith Ivey, Ben Whishaw, and Frances McDormand, who also serves as the producer. Hildur described the score as one of the optimistic music, she composed for a horrific subject which is relevant in the current period, referring to sexual assault against women. Hildur collaborates with Skúli Sverrisson who provides guitar solos.

References

  1. "Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory (Hardback)". September Publishing. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  2. "Run Towards the Danger". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  3. Polley, Sarah (2022). Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory. September Publishing. ISBN   9780593300374.
  4. "Run Towards the Danger by Sarah Polley". CBC. 14 December 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  5. Armitstead, Claire (30 May 2022). "Sarah Polley on her unflinching memoir: 'Can you forgive – and should you forgive?'". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  6. Daum, Meghan (1 March 2022). "How Sarah Polley, Child Star and 'Canada's Sweetheart,' Grew Up Way Too Fast". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
  7. Kane, Siobhan (6 August 2022). "Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory by Sarah Polley: struggle and strength". The Irish Times. Retrieved 7 February 2024.