Donna Besel

she / her

Donna Besel loves writing of all kinds, and does workshops and presentations for schools, libraries, universities, conferences, and retreats. She grew up at West Hawk Lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park and her “boreal stories” have won national prizes, appeared in various publications, and earned national recognition. The forests of Eastern Manitoba, where she has always lived, provide endless ideas and settings. Her first book, Lessons from a Nude Man, a collection of short stories, earned several award nominations. In 2021, Manitoba Arts Council presented Besel with their $10,000 Rural Recognition Prize for her work as an artist and a supporter of the arts in rural Manitoba. In the fall of the same year, University of Regina Press published her memoir, The Unravelling: Incest and the Destruction of a Family.

Awards

2021 - Manitoba Arts Council Rural Recognition Prize

Publications

The Unravelling: Incest and the Destruction of a Family

The Unravelling: Incest and the Destruction of a Family

The Unravelling: Incest and the Destruction of a Family

The Unravelling: Incest and the Destruction of a Family

In a family torn apart by sexual violence, a daughter finds clarity and redemption in telling her story

It’s the antithesis of why a wedding should be memorable. In 1992, at a sister’s nuptials, Besel family members discovered that their father, Jock Besel, had molested their youngest sister. As more survivors came forward, the family realized that their father had sexually assaulted four of the six sisters in a family of eleven children, and had been doing so for years. Despite there being enough evidence to charge their father, the trial and prosecution rocked the Besel family and deeply divided their small rural community.

The Unravelling is a brave, riveting telling of the destruction caused by sexual assault, and the physical, psychological, emotional, financial, and legal tolls survivors often shoulder.

Released: Nov 6, 2021

Publisher: University of Regina Press