The Toronto Lawyers Association hosted an author’s talk event on May 31 at the TLA Lawyers Lounge with lawyer Greg Gilhooly, who wrote a book called I Am Nobody: Confronting the Sexually Abusive Coach Who Stole My Life about his experience as a child sexual abuse survivor.
The book delves into his personal story of being sexually abused as a child at the hands of his hockey coach, Graham James, who also sexually abused former NHL hockey players Sheldon Kennedy and Theoren Fleury as youth. Gilhooly’s book also sheds light on the legal angle of sexual assault and how he believes the justice system does not do enough to rehabilitate survivors.
“You don’t have to be a somebody to be the victim of a notorious predator,” he said during his talk.
John Macfarlane, partner at Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP and long-time friend of Gilhooly, led the discussion, before turning to the audience for a question and answer period.
Gilhooly spoke about his book and the changes he believes are needed to reform the criminal justice system for better helping victims of sexual abuse through his talk.
He said he is passionate about wanting to make a difference in law regarding sexual abuse and is interested in the possibility of dedicating the rest of his career to change the system. But he said he is also “at a fork in the road” with his life, as he also wants to take back the time he lost suffering the negative effects of the abuse throughout his lifetime.
The evening concluded with a book signing, refreshments and time for attendees to mingle.
