Meet the author: Kate Rossmanith talks Small Wrongs
Meet the author: Kate Rossmanith talks Small Wrongs
Hosted By: Hardie Grant Books & The Leaf Bookshop
The Leaf Bookshop, 283 High Street #3 Ashburton, VIC 3147 | 21 Jun 2018 06:30 PM
The Leaf Bookshop is very pleased to announce our next Meet the Author event with Kate Rossmanith on Thursday 21 June from 6.30pm. Kate's book Small Wrongs explores the emotional and legal repercussions of wrongdoing. She investigates how remorse is quantified, how we blame and regret, how we love and forgive. We are very lucky that Kate can take time from her work commitments in Sydney to come and talk to us. She will be in conversation with Katy Downey and will be available to sign copies of her book. Come along for what promises to be a fascinating evening!Light refreshments will be served.PLEASE NOTE - Part of the event will be held on the first floor of the shop which can only be accessed by stairs.Please RSVP by 18 June 2018. Seats are strictly limited, so get in early!
Early Praise for Small Wrongs:
Ceridwen Dovey
About Small Wrongs:
Kate Rossmanith studied people for a living, and thought she understood human nature well. But in the wake of her daughter’s birth, the vulnerability and intensity of parenthood took her completely by surprise. Faced with a debilitating insomnia, she spent hours awake reflecting on her own upbringing and the unwelcome role remorse can play in even the most devoted parents’ lives.
Increasingly fascinated with the concept of remorse, she was drawn to the criminal courts, observing case after case. She talked to criminals, lawyers and judges alike, trying to answer the fundamental question: how can you know whether a person is ever truly sorry?
But it soon became clear the project was creating seismic shifts in Kate’s own life. The more she learnt, the more she saw how her relationship with her father, who for many years was a distant and often angry man, was steeped in remorse. The more she learnt, the more she saw the faultlines in her marriage, widening under the strains of parenthood. And ever present was a family history sketched across war-torn Europe, with the seeds of heartache taking root in Australia.
'A moving investigation into the inner-workings of remorse and forgiveness, not just as a legal concept, but a tool to opening up our common humanity. Kate is a brilliant storyteller.'
Alice Pung
'Intimate, revealing and fascinating, Rossmanith explores one of the most troubling expectations of those caught up in the criminal justice system, the performance of remorse.’Anna Krien
'A sincere and delicate inquiry that moves with grace between public and private pain.'
Helen Garner
Ceridwen Dovey
About Small Wrongs:
Kate Rossmanith studied people for a living, and thought she understood human nature well. But in the wake of her daughter’s birth, the vulnerability and intensity of parenthood took her completely by surprise. Faced with a debilitating insomnia, she spent hours awake reflecting on her own upbringing and the unwelcome role remorse can play in even the most devoted parents’ lives.
Increasingly fascinated with the concept of remorse, she was drawn to the criminal courts, observing case after case. She talked to criminals, lawyers and judges alike, trying to answer the fundamental question: how can you know whether a person is ever truly sorry?
But it soon became clear the project was creating seismic shifts in Kate’s own life. The more she learnt, the more she saw how her relationship with her father, who for many years was a distant and often angry man, was steeped in remorse. The more she learnt, the more she saw the faultlines in her marriage, widening under the strains of parenthood. And ever present was a family history sketched across war-torn Europe, with the seeds of heartache taking root in Australia.
'A moving investigation into the inner-workings of remorse and forgiveness, not just as a legal concept, but a tool to opening up our common humanity. Kate is a brilliant storyteller.'
Alice Pung
'Intimate, revealing and fascinating, Rossmanith explores one of the most troubling expectations of those caught up in the criminal justice system, the performance of remorse.’Anna Krien
About The Author
Kate Rossmanith is an author and an essayist, her nonfiction appearing in The Monthly, The Australian, and Best Australian Essays. In 2013, her essay ‘The Work of Judges’ was nominated for a Walkley Award for Excellence in Journalism, and in 2018 her short documentary Unnatural Deaths was published by The Guardian as part of a series exploring archives on film. She lives in Sydney and lectures at Macquarie University.
Date: Thursday 21st June 2018
Time: 6:00pm for a 6:30pm start
Where: The Leaf Bookshop, 283 High Street, #3, Ashburton, VIC 3147
Bookings: Bookings Essential