Julie S. Lalonde Wins Speaker's Book Award for her Powerful and Challenging Memoir, Resilience is Futile

This morning, the Honourable Ted Arnott, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, announced that Resilience is Futile: The Life and Death and Life of Julie S. Lalonde (Between the Lines Books) by Julie S. Lalonde is the winner of the 2020 Speaker’s Book Award. 

Resilience is Futile recounts Lalonde's harrowing experience fleeing intimate partner violence at just twenty years old and being stalked by her ex-partner for over a decade.

Lalonde is an award-winning advocate for women’s rights, with honours including the Governor General’s Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case.

A story of survival and courage, Resilience is Futile also challenges widely held assumptions about trauma and violence. Lalonde has pushed for a deeper understanding of what survivors face and the ways in which the current system often fails to support them. She has worked with universities across the country and the Canadian military to improve responses and support networks for survivors of violence and abuse. 

The Selection Committee, which chose the shortlist and the winning book, is chaired by Arnott and also includes David Bogart (co-chair), Marilyn Churley, Nancy Cooper, Robert Fisher, and David Tsubouchi. 

The other shortlisted titles were:

• The Forest City Killer: A Serial Murderer, a Cold-Case Sleuth, and a Search for Justice by Vanessa Brown (ECW Press)
• Marvellous Grounds: Queer of Colour Histories of Toronto edited by Jin Haritaworn, Ghaida Moussa, Syrus Marcus Ware (Between the Lines)
• BlackBerry Town: How High Tech Success has Played Out for Canada's Kitchener-Waterloo by Chuck Howitt (James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers) 
• House Divided: How the Missing Middle Will Solve Toronto's Affordability Crisis edited by Alex Bozikovic, Cheryll Case, John Lorinc, Annabel Vaughan (Coach House Books)
• The Age of Fentanyl: Ending the Opioid Epidemic by Brodie Ramin (Dundurn Press)

As the winning book, Resilience is Futile will be available for sale at the Legislative Assembly Gift Shop and featured in the Legislative Library. The prize also comes with an undisclosed monetary award. 

Launched in 2012, the Speaker’s Book Award recognizes nonfiction works by Ontario authors, produced by Ontario publishing houses, reflecting the diverse culture and rich history of the province and of its residents.