Alice Munro's family kept a terrible secret for decades. Now they want the world to know

This Matters

Guest: Deborah Dundas, opinion section editor at the Toronto Star

A chilling revelation has surfaced almost a month after the death of Canada's literary giant, Alice Munro. Andrea Skinner — who is Munro’s daughter — has revealed in the Toronto Star that her stepfather Gerald Fremlin sexually abused her when she was nine years old. She was only able to tell her mother in a letter when she was in her 20s. Her mother chose to remain with Fremlin, even after discovering the abuse. For nearly five decades a conspiracy of silence has loomed over the family — casting a chill over the legacy of Canada's Nobel laureate — and raising questions about how society appears to view and protect its icons while uncomfortable truths and complicit silence lurks just beneath the surface. More than anything else, this is the story of a survivor and her courage to speak out so others might follow.

A warning that his episode contains descriptions of child sexual abuse and might be triggering. Please take care while listening.

Audio sources: CBC

This episode was produced by Sean Pattenden and Saba Eitizaz