Presented by UNSWriting

Fiona Wright and Jessica Friedmann are two of our most celebrated new wave essayists. In their books, they provide deeply personal accounts of illness, recovery, and the feeling of foreignness associated with one’s own body.

Wright’s collection of essays Small Acts of Disappearance is a compelling account of her experience of living with an eating disorder that escalates to life-threatening anorexia. Her writing is detailed, humorous and hauntingly honest. In Things That Helped, Friedmann navigates us through the experience of post-partum depression after the birth of her son. Her powerful and moving writing touches on race, gender and sexuality as well as motherhood and depression.

This talk will explore the common themes in their writing and ask how Wright and Friedmann are reinventing nonfictional forms. In what ways is contemporary memoir evolving? And how does the writing of memoir result in a new kind of essay?

Fiona Wright and Jessica Friedmann will be in conversation with Roanna Gonsalves in this UNSWriting event. 

Fiona Wright, Jessica Friedmann and Roanna Gonsalves' books will be available at 10% off the RRP courtesy of the UNSW Bookshop on the night.

Read biographies and more on the UNSW event page.

Location: Io Myers Studio, E8 Theatre, Gate 2 High St, UNSW Sydney