Health care activist, journalist, and Tagona Press author Diane Sims named to Order of Canada
(From our December 18, 2024, press release) Sault Ste Marie: Tagona Press is proud to announce that Diane Sims was named to the Order of Canada today. The January 2025 investiture ceremony will take place in Ottawa. A Sault native and 1977 Sault Collegiate graduate, Diane’s remarkable life has included award winning journalism, numerous books, senior print and broadcast media editorial positions, and passionate health case advocacy, especially Diane’s determined efforts to promote better public building accessibility for disabled persons.
Diane was initially diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) as a teenager. She was told by her doctors then that she would not survive past age 35. Defying the odds, Diane has overcome MS, ovarian cancer, and numerous other serious medical conditions that would have defeated most people. Diane’s life story is told in ‘Living Beyond The Shadow’, her recently published memoir. Diane’s 2024 Maclean’s magazine article outlining her decision to pursue MAiD (medical assistance in dying) brought significant attention to this important subject.
Diane said that she was “thoroughly surprised, utterly delighted and overwhelmingly humbled,” when she first received the Governor General’s office call informing her of the Order of Canada investiture. “I was lying in bed going through my morning routine when the phone rang. This lovely woman, Emily Sauve, said she was calling from the Governor General’s office. One of the nicest things I could ever imagine.”
Tagona Press publisher Bryan Davies notes that “We are thrilled beyond words for Diane. At Tagona, we are privileged to publish some great books written by even better people – like Diane. She is tough, determined, and smart. Her infectious good humour lights up every room. Diane is a great Canadian. It is a profound honour to be ‘the indefatigable Ms. Sims’ publisher and friend.”
On January 9, 2025, Tagona Press is hosting a celebration of Diane’s award and her ‘Living Beyond The Shadow’ memoir at the Toronto Arts and Letters Club (14 Elm Street, 5pm to 9pm, with the ‘official’ proceedings from 6:30 to 7:15pm). This event will feature readings from Diane’s memoir by talented University of Toronto creative arts students Olivia Belovich and Ava Nori (also a published Tagona Press poet), a cash bar (this is a Sault joint, after all), and an opportunity to chat with Diane about her life and works.
Please contact Bryan Davies ([email protected], or 905 409 8557 (text)) for any other information or to arrange an interview with Diane.
