By Jack Brittle, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
On November 7, Burlington Public Library (BPL) hosted a talk with local author Lesley Megarry about her most recent book, Let Me Introduce You to My Brother.
The event was part of the ongoing Burlington Literary Festival, which BPL describes as “a celebration of all things literary.”
Megarry self-published her first book, Let’s Be Friends Who Haven’t Met Yet, in 2023. She dedicated the first half of her presentation to the entire process of getting the book out, from writing to publication.
Megarry said that when one of her friends described her first book as “self-help,” she was initially defensive.
“But then she said to me, ‘Lesley, isn’t a conversation with a friend helpful?’” Megarry said. “And I kind of went, ‘Oh my gosh, yeah.’”
Megarry said that her friends had often encouraged her to write a book, citing her ability to always see the positive side of things. She has kept a journal since she was eleven years old, and enjoys looking back on old entries to see where her mind was at that time.
“I take a lot of books out of the library, but I like going through my journals,” she said. “I went back on a few recent entries, and there was a mix of happiness, messages to myself, uncertainty, and confusion. But every journal entry to myself ended with hope.”
Megarry was convinced that her friends were right when she read a journal entry written after her daughter was diagnosed with cancer in 2019.
“Other people lose a child,” Megarry had written. “Why not me?”
“That cemented the belief in me,” she said. “Because I read that journal entry and I saw what they’ve seen in me. Who has friends that help you when you’re going through the worst possible time in your life? It’s tough to be that friend. But I was that friend to myself in that entry, and I realized then that I was that friend to many others. I just didn’t know it because it came so naturally to me in many ways.”
Megarry said that it’s important to remember that during the writing process, “what will work one day, may not work another.”
“You have to be open to what feels right for you,” she said.
Megarry said that her favourite places to write were BPL’s Central branch, coffee shops, and a spot on Lakeshore between Guelph and Walker’s Line, overlooking the water.
In terms of her writing process, she said that deciding on a title before the book was written helped her to stay focused on what she was trying to express on paper.
After her manuscript was complete, Megarry submitted her first book to a publisher, but was unhappy with their feedback.
“It wasn’t me,” she said. “They were changing things that were against what I know. They were changing what I wanted the reader to get out of the book. I write like I speak. For those who know me, who have read my book, they have literally said, ‘I can hear you in every line.’ It’s a very lazy conversation I’m having. Run-on sentences, all that stuff. Well, guess what? A traditional publishing house, they really didn’t like that.”
Megarry eventually decided to self-publish her books on Amazon, using Kindle Direct Publishing.
For the second half of her talk, Megarry focused on her late brother Johnny, who her second book is about.
She said that in a conversation with a fellow member of her church, Megarry realized the role she played in her brother’s life.
“He said to me, ‘I get the feeling that you don’t really realize the importance you had in Johnny’s life,’” Megarry said. “And I said, ‘No, that’s not true. I do know the difference I made in his life, but I’m just his sister.’ He goes, ‘Lesley, you’re not just his sister. He’s been a child of yours. You love and advocate for him like you would a child.’”
Megarry said that Johnny was a smart man and “very high functioning.”
“He simply liked to live,” she said.
Megarry said that a typical day for Johnny involved four things: purpose, people, routine, and supervision. She said that these things were all essential for Johnny to live a successful life.
She described Johnny as being a hyperactive child, who was eventually transferred to classes for students with developmental disabilities. Megarry said that Johnny knew that he didn’t belong there.
“He wanted to be friends with the teachers, the counsellors, the bus driver, anybody that wasn’t part of his peer group,” she said.
Megarry said that Johnny lived in supported independent living through Community Living Burlington for most of his adult life.
She said that for the last five years of his life, Johnny lived in a “24-hour, 7-days-a-week” support group home.
“Everybody [there] was kind and amazing,” Megarry said. “It was an extension of our family.”
She said that while Johnny did find intermittent employment, Megarry eventually decided that working was not in his best interest due to difficulties he encountered with ODSP (the Ontario Disability Support Program). (Under current Ontario rules, ODSP recipients can earn up to $1,000 a month in net employment income without a reduction in income support. Above that amount, 25% of additional net earnings is also exempt.)
“Every single time Johnny got a job, that money was taken off of his ODSP,” she said. “Every single time he lost a job, which he did, it took forever to get the money back.”
Megarry told a story in which Johnny was working as a dishwasher at a restaurant and was asked to clean the windows.
“He cleaned all the windows, even where the patrons were having lunch,” she said. “He just wiped them. The supervisor, who knew him, was sick and wasn’t there. He was fired on the spot.”
Megarry said that Johnny also had a job stocking shelves.
“[It was a] great job for Johnny,” she said. “Physical and busy. So he was done for the day, and again, the person who was there with him wasn’t his regular support person. She asked him to sweep up. She went to go check on him and couldn’t find him. By this time, he’d taken a bus and a cab to his group home. I called him and asked, ‘Johnny, why did you leave?’ He said, ‘I don’t want to sweep up, Les. That’s not what I was hired to do. I was there to stock shelves. I wasn’t there to sweep.’”
Despite these jobs not working out, Megarry said that Johnny ended up volunteering at the Ron Edwards Family YMCA for 15 years.
“[It was a] true success,” she said. “Why? Because the people in the organization took time to get to know him.”
Megarry ended her talk with an excerpt from Let Me Introduce You to My Brother.
“I’ve always been so very proud to be Johnny’s sister,” she said. “He was about compassion, humanity, caring, respect, belonging, all that’s good in this life. He opened up my heart to a world I may not have paid much attention to otherwise. He needed to feel safe to be around people, and in the most instinctive way possible, he simply wanted to live. And what’s truly beautiful about Johnny? He kept on trying. I wish you could have met him.”
Both of Megarry’s books are available to borrow from the Burlington Public Library or to buy on Amazon.ca.
Megarry has also published several articles in Burlington Local-News.ca, “A Series of Conversations About Inclusion and Developmental Disability.” To read her latest article, click here.
