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Author Talk: Marie Younan "A Different Kind of Seeing"

Book cover of A Different Kind of Seeing by Marie Younan with Jill Sanguinetti, featuring a black and white photo of a young woman sitting looking at a book with an older man.

Come along to Sandringham Library as we're joined by writer/interviewer Claire Halliday in conversation with Marie Younan.

Marie was born in 1952 into a family of Assyrian refugees living in north-eastern Syria. Her book A Different Kind of Seeing (co-written with her friend and teacher, Jill Sanguinetti), shares a story of courage and resilience - the transformative power of language, friendship, education, and the kindness of strangers.

Accidentally blinded by her grandmother as a baby, in 1978, things changed when - after fleeing persecution and violence, first to Beirut, then to Athens - Marie joined the rest of her family and migrated to Australia.

Without English or sight, Marie depended on her family for everything. After three failed operations to restore her vision, Marie admits to feeling only "half-alive".

Then, in 1985, aged 33, she attended the Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind. A close bond with her Braille teacher, Ben, helped her become fluent in English as well as Braille.

Learning how to communicate and walk with a cane, Marie's world opened and continues to expand in her life as a professional interpreter with counsellors and refugees at the Foundation Centre for Survivors of Torture.

When:

Time:

  • 11:00am-12:00pm

Location:

Sandringham Library
8 Waltham St
Sandringham
Victoria 3191
Australia

Organiser:

Bayside Library Service

Contact:

9261 7125

Price:

Free