If you remember Wong’s “Lunch With…” series in the Globe and Mail you’ll probably recall that she was a true journalist. She didn’t suck up to her subjects who ranged from the famous to the notorious. She sometimes ripped them a new one for everything from table manners to the way they answered questions. Wong was a marquee writer for the Globe for two decades until she wrote an article that inspired death threats and instead of backing her up, her employer hung her out to dry.
When Wong wrote about the Dawson College shooting in 2006 as an issue of race, she lit a firestorm of controversy. What became known as L’Affaire Wong overshadowed the killing itself. She analyzed that shooter, Kimveer Gill as well as Marc Lepine and other notorious multi-victim killers in the province’s history were children of immigrants. Wong wrote that they were marginalized in a society that values “pure laine” – translated to “pure wool” – which means, in this case, pure Francophone.
No one likes an excuse made on behalf of a murderer and Quebecers especially dislike any criticism of their culture from outside of the province. Even though her Editor-in-Chief had personally reviewed and approved Wong’s article, he distanced himself from it in the angry aftermath. Her newspaper as a whole behaved very badly and when specific and credible death threats started to arrive, the Globe didn’t take them – or Jan Wong – seriously. It’s a story of a heartless corporation at its worst and this is only the set-up. Wong fell into a deep and long depression during which she couldn’t work. The Globe accused her of lying. And that’s what this book is really about.
Jan Wong is fortunate to have had a voice because even she notes that this type of discrimination against mental illness is widespread in our society. I don’t have to tell you how well written her book is; Wong’s abilities as a story-teller are second to none and this is just one of her many books. The story is deeply personal and Wong admits her illness took a heavy toll on her family – her husband Norman and their two teenage sons. The pages are peppered with enough data on depression to make it a credible overview of the illness itself as well as a memoir of one woman’s descent into despair. Depression is still a misunderstood illness but Wong peels away some layers to demystify it for those who might know someone who has experienced it. Former patients like Jan Wong must use their platform to tell their stories if society is ever going to get past its bias about mental illnesses. Out of the Blue is a huge step toward that goal. And how fitting that her publisher balked at her bravery and cancelled her contract. Out of the Blue is self-published by Wong.