The former journalist Sunny Dhillon discusses his new memoir Hide and Sikh: Letters from a Life in Brown Skin (Wolsak and Wynn, 2025), with Joseph Planta.
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Hide and Sikh: Letters from a Life in Brown Skin by Sunny Dhillon (Wolsak and Wynn, 2025).
Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Hide and Sikh |
Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:
I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.
I was a fan of Sunny Dhillon when he was a reporter at the Globe and Mail based out of the bureau here in Vancouver. In 2018, he leaves the paper, and in a public piece that got a lot of attention at the time, cites the difficulties of being a journalist of colour, and how that seemingly didn’t matter to his editors. The episode and its fallout are written about in his new book, Hide and Sikh: Letters from a Life in Brown Skin. It’s an often-touching memoir, that’s also funny. It’s a series of letters to his daughter where he recounts what it’s been like living in Canada as somebody who isn’t white. I could relate to a lot of the experiences Mr. Dhillon writes about growing up, and as he moves through life as an adult. The anecdotes about being a parent are moving, and more painful moments about experiencing prejudice or being stereotyped are important to read about, even if they seem bewildering. I remain a big fan of Sunny’s because he writes about tough subjects with an honesty that’s refreshing. There’s also some optimism, even if we’re finding it tough at times. Sunny Dhillon is a former news reporter, who has also appeared on television and radio, and spoken at conferences. He holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of British Columbia. He is currently attending law school. The book is published by Wolsak and Wynn. He joined me from Ottawa ten days ago. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Sunny Dhillon; Mr. Dhillon, good morning.
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