Two words written anonymously in a guest book at Munro’s Books in Victoria set off a chain of events that led a longtime employee to quit her job, disillusioned by her literary hero and former employer. Justina Elias, who worked as the head of fiction and social media manager at the bookstore, had always admired Alice Munro, the store’s co-founder and renowned author. She gladly gave interviews about Munro and was slated to moderate an event celebrating Munro’s life after her passing in May at the age of 92.
However, the fairy tale began to unravel when someone wrote „child abuser“ in the guest book. Store president Jessica Walker explained to Elias that this was related to the sexual abuse of Munro’s daughter, Andrea Robin Skinner, at the hands of Munro’s late husband. Walker and a few others at the store had known about this, but Elias was shocked to hear it for the first time. She expressed concerns about moderating the event in good conscience, feeling that the reaction among her superiors at work was dismissive of the seriousness of the situation.
The store ultimately cancelled the event, and Walker later revealed that she had heard limited details about the abuse years ago from Jim Munro, Alice’s first husband. She expressed regret for not knowing the full extent of the situation and stated that the store’s support for Skinner was unequivocal. Munro’s fans were shocked and horrified by Skinner’s revelations in a Toronto Star column, where she detailed the abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather, Munro’s second husband.
Skinner’s story shed light on the dark reality of childhood sexual abuse and the silence that often surrounds it. Munro, a Nobel Prize-winning author, turned her back on her daughter when she informed her about the abuse and stayed with her husband until his death in 2013. The store, which was co-founded by Munro in 1963, has since taken steps to support survivors of childhood sexual abuse, including donating proceeds from the sale of Munro’s books to relevant organizations.
Elias, who had considered Munro a feminist icon and deeply identified with her on a personal level, felt disillusioned by the store’s historical complicity in hiding the truth. Despite the store’s efforts to address the situation, Elias felt that it had not adequately acknowledged its role in perpetuating the silence around the abuse. Feeling disgusted, she ultimately quit her dream job after nearly a decade of working at Munro’s.
The news of Munro’s connection to the abuse left fans and followers of her work reeling. Tracy Ware, a retired professor of English literature, described Munro as being „almost universally loved“ in Canadian literature circles. He noted the parallels between Munro’s story „Vandals“ and Skinner’s experience, highlighting the universal truth of hiding stories of sexual abuse.
While some have described the silence around the abuse as a uniquely Canadian problem, Ware sees it as a universal issue that many families struggle to address. Skinner’s son, Felix, who is Munro’s grandson, was revealed to be the one who wrote „child abuser“ in the guest book. Despite the turmoil and revelations, Munro’s Books continues to navigate its legacy and support survivors of childhood sexual abuse.