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Bonnie Sherr Klein
About Philia > Sources of Inspiration > Bonnie Sherr Klein

Bonnie Sherr Klein earned her M.A. in Broadcasting-Film from Stanford University in 1966 and worked as a freelance filmmaker in both California and New York. Opposed to the Vietnam War, Bonnie and her husband Michael, a physician, immigrated to Canada in 1967 where she continued her film career. Her renowned film, Not a Love Story: A Film about Pornography (1981) is still widely used in Women's Studies curricula throughout the country. Bonnie received the "Women of Distinction in Arts and Culture Award" from the Vancouver YWCA in 1996 and won the "Woman of the Year in Film and Video Award" from Vancouver Women and Film in 1997.

At the age of forty-six, Bonnie suffered a stroke which left her paralyzed and respirator-dependent. Though fully conscious she could neither move nor speak, a condition known as "locked-in syndrome." After regaining her speech, she began recording her extraordinary experience culminating in her book Slow Dance: A Story of Stroke, Love and Disability. Through her journals and tapes, Bonnie details her long recovery and rehabilitation process and her growing awareness of the plight of those labeled "disabled."

Bonnie Sherr Klein and her husband, Michael are committed to the disability rights movement whose mission is to change society's images of the disabled. They live in Vancouver, where Bonnie counsels and speaks about disability rights to health care professionals and to the general public.

Date / Author
Subject Add Your Comment
Jul 05, 2021
08:15 AM
11 yr. old female
Laurel Depending on what province the child lives in, try to support the grandmother to contact a local agency. There she will get a lot of support and link in with other families who could offer advice in finding the support the child needs. Perhaps getting weekend or evening respite support or a behavioural consultant (CBI in BC) will take some of the pressure off. There is help out there, and living together as a family is far better than any institution!
Jun 06, 2021
12:31 PM
11 yr. old female
MillerB A friend grandmother, has full custody of this child, who presents behavior problems at school & home .Grandmother in her 50's does not seem to be able to get suitable help/ support from medical or school . Sometimes she feels an institution is the only way to go. She took full custody 4 or 5yrs. ago because children would have been put in the care of children's aid

Related Items
Read Bonnie's Convocation Address (PDF, 55kb) to Ryerson University.

Read Bonnie's lecture on The Art of Disability (PDF, 70kb)
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