Sean Towgood, creator and star of You're My Hero, shares some of his favourite books
You're My Hero is streaming now on CBC Gem
Sean Towgood is the creator, writer, co-executive producer and star of You're My Hero, a new CBC Gem original comedy series about navigating life with cerebral palsy. He is a Radio Broadcasting graduate from Humber College, and won an Emerge Media Award for the short radio documentary Stigma. Towgood is also the creator and co-producer of the audio documentaries Independence Day and Welcome To The Party for CBC's The Doc Project.
You're My Hero, which is streaming now on CBC Gem, is about a 20-something with cerebral palsy who navigates the pressures of adult life in a world not designed for wheels. Honest, insightful and daring, the show uses humour to shake up the prevailing views on what it means to be living with a disability.
Towgood is an avid reader and says he enjoys stories about people that are overlooked.
"Books have always played a big part in my life. Often I tend to gravitate towards characters that are misunderstood, or on the fringes of society," he told CBC Books.
Ahead of You're My Hero's premiere, he shared some of his favourite books and what he's learned from them.
Hooray for Snail! by John Stadler
"Hooray for Snail! is an early reader book about a snail who hits a big home run that goes all the way to the moon and back. Snail runs the bases so slowly that it's anyone's guess whether he'll make it to home base before the ball does. Hear me out! This book captured my three-year-old imagination, unlocking a world of tension, excitement and silliness every time I read it. Or rather, every time my mother read it to me. Every single time, I didn't know if that darned snail was going to be safe or out, and I was right there rounding those bases with him. This book is vivid still.
This book captured my three-year-old imagination, unlocking a world of tension, excitement and silliness every time I read it.- Sean Towgood
"This book taught me the magic of setting scenes and the tension of the unknown. Honestly, when I look back at it, I'm kind of shocked at how much it shaped me as a screenwriter, whether I knew it or not. It's absolutely crucial that children have the opportunity to experience written stories because it lays the foundation for a world of creativity and imagination. The habit of reading starts early."
The Hockey Sweater By Roch Carrier
"The Hockey Sweater was another one of my early reads. It's about a boy who plays hockey growing up in Montreal. When his Montreal Canadiens sweater wears out, his mother orders him a new one from a catalogue. When he is accidentally sent a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater, he is ostracized by his entire community for something over which he has no control.
It's a compelling little allegory because of its innocence and it's one of those childhood reads that stays with you forever.- Sean Towgood
"It's a compelling little allegory because of its innocence and it's one of those childhood reads that stays with you forever."
LISTEN | Roch Carrier reading The Hockey Sweater on As It Happens
The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence
"This book taught me what many might consider a very simple lesson, but it clicked at the time in my life when I needed it the most: we don't really know what people have gone through before we've met them. People have lived entire, full lives until the moment we meet them and we have no idea what those lives have looked like.
The book reminds us of the importance of empathy, and also the importance of communication.- Sean Towgood
"The book reminds us of the importance of empathy, and also the importance of communication. Hagar has such a strong internal dialogue but is unable to express herself, which causes tension in all of her relationships. I wanted to scream, 'Just say something!' the whole time I was reading it.
"I had the same thought about Romeo and Juliet but that's for a different discussion."
WATCH | Margaret Laurence talking about her writing
Shake Hands with the Devil by Roméo Dallaire
"Shake Hands with the Devil by Roméo Dallaire shook me to my core. This book is a warning about the consequences of political complacency and the absolute failure of governments to prevent foreseeable genocide. The sense of helplessness in a man who could see it all happening, without being given the resources or the authority to do anything about it, was crushing to read.
Everyone should read this book. For me, it epitomizes the importance of choosing not to be a bystander, but taking action in the face of evil.- Sean Towgood
"Everyone should read this book. For me, it epitomizes the importance of choosing not to be a bystander, but taking action in the face of evil."
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese
"Indian Horse is a raw, unflinching look at a character's experience in the residential school system. He turns to hockey for a haven from the isolation he feels at school but finds himself the subject of continual racism on the ice, an experience that is still all too prevalent in hockey, even now.
This book evoked feelings of anger and sadness, as the character spends much of the book fighting for survival and struggling to find his identity.- Sean Towgood
"As he explores his troubled relationship with hockey, he finds himself delving further into the darkness of his past. This book evoked feelings of anger and sadness, as the character spends much of the book fighting for survival and struggling to find his identity."
Sean Towgood's comments have been edited for length and clarity.
