February 6, 2008
Sister a best-seller before hitting bookstores!
Sister, The History of the Sisters of St. Joseph is a 34-page coffee table-style book that tells the story of the founders of St. Joseph’s Health Care London, through narrative, anecdotes and images.
Self-published by the St. Joseph’s Health Care, London, Communications and Public Affairs department, and designed by HONEY, the publication originated to express appreciation and recognize the legacy left by the Sisters. After founding, managing and governing for nearly 120 years, the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Diocese of London (the Sisters) decided to end formal governance ties with St. Joseph’s Health Care, London (St. Joseph’s) in June 2007.
Dahlia Reich, the author says “In essence, creating the book, Sister – A History of the Sisters of St. Joseph’s, London was an opportunity to first express our appreciation to the Sisters for 120 years of governance excellence. And in sharing this story with others, we are helping distinguish our organization’s unique mission and ensure that the legacy on which our organization was built would continue to be a vibrant part of our distinct identity as we look to the future.”
However, once published, the demand for the first printing outstripped supply almost immediately, just from within St. Joseph’s itself. Requests from local bookstores indicated there was an opportunity to sell the book to the public and so a second printing was initiated. In fact, the response to the book from the public was tremendous. Hilary Thomas, owner of Oxford Books and Stationery in London, referred to the surge of requests for the book as a “frenzy”. The demand for a locally written history book, of which the store sells many, is “unprecedented” she said.
The interest sparked the London Free Press to do three separate stories on the book, including a front-page piece with colour photo. The newspaper, the Sisters, the health centre and bookstores received hundreds of calls across London and Southwestern Ontario from people wanting to purchase the book. CBC Radio ran two segments.
The publication continues to sell briskly. Two additional bookstores requested to sell the books on consignment and are now doing so. When all books are sold from the second printing, the publication will have raised a total of about $25,000.00 for care, teaching and research at St. Joseph’s.