Music journalist and author Grant Lawrence is coming back to town.
This time it’s to share stories from his new book The Lonely End of the Rink: Confessions of a Reluctant Goalie.
The Mulberry Bush Bookstore in Parksville is presenting a three-course meal and an evening of comic entertainment with Lawrence October 30 at 6 p.m.
In addition to being a CBC host, an eminent indie-rock alumnus, and the award-winning author of the bestselling book, Adventures in Solitude, Grant Lawrence has another claim to fame: as a baby, he spent part of a plane on Bobby Orr’s lap. Grant, his parents, Bobby Orr and the rest of the Canadian hockey team were on their way to Game 3 of the famous Summit Series between the Soviet Union and Canada in 1972, during the height of the Cold War. It was at this tender age that Grant’s lifelong entanglement with hockey began.
Lawrence’s new book, The Lonely End of the Rink, is said to be an ingenious combination of hockey lore, Canadian music history and hilarious personal anecdotes. It’s a comical account of how hockey has played into various periods of Lawrence’s life, first as a knee-brace-wearing bully-magnet, then a rock star, and finally, a CBC broadcaster. Complete with his signature storytelling ability, publisher Douglas & McIntyre call the book the quintessential Canadian story about our cultural lives, told through the grill of a goalie mask. The book contains colourful tales about the history of the NHL, and it is also chock full of stories about many Canadian celebrities—including comedians, musicians and actors—whose lives have been affected by the game.
For more information about Grant Lawrence and his new book, go to www.grantlawrence.ca. To purchase a ticket to the event, drop by the Mulberry Bush Bookstore at 280 Island Highway E., or call the store at 250.248.1193.
-News Staff/Submitted by Annie Boyar
