The Measure of a Man
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FINALIST - Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Non-Fiction (2012)
FINALIST - Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction (2012)
FINALIST - Governor General's Literary Award - Non-Fiction (2012)
FINALIST - BC Book Prize's Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize (2012)
A son’s decision to alter his father’s last surviving suit for himself is the launching point for this powerful book – part personal memoir, part social history of the man’s suit – about fathers and sons, love and forgiveness, and learning what it means to be a man.
For years, journalist and amateur tailor JJ Lee tried to ignore the suit hanging at the back of his closet. It was his father’s suit. But when JJ decides to make the suit his own, little does he know he is about to embark on a journey to understand his own past.
As JJ cuts into the jacket, he begins to piece together the story of his relationship with his father, a charismatic but troubled Montreal restauranteur whose demons brought tumult upon his family. JJ also recounts his own ups and downs during the year he spent as an apprentice at Modernize Tailors – the last of the great Chinatown suitmakers in Vancouver – where, under the tutelage of his octogenarian master tailor, he learns invaluable lessons about life. Woven throughout JJ’s tale are stories of the suit’s own evolution, illuminating how this humble garment has, for centuries, been the surprising battleground for the war between generations.
Written with great wit, bracing honesty, and narrative verve, and featuring line drawings throughout by the author, The Measure of a Man is an unforgettable story of love, forgiveness, and discovering what it means to be your own man.
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In 2012, his essay “ELLE First: You are beautiful” was awarded a gold for Best Short Feature at the National Magazine Awards. In 2014, he hosted the CBC Radio summer show Head To Toe. In 2015, he served on the jury for Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Non-Fiction. Lee contributes to ELLE Canada and currently is writing a sequel to The Measure of a Man.
He was the fashion columnist for CBC Radio’s On the Coast, a producer at Sounds Like Canada, and worked on and contributed to such CBC Radio programs as Basic Black, Out Front, The Current, Richardson’s Roundup, and Ideas, for which he prepared the radio documentary on the social history of suits that inspired this book of the same name.
Lee grew up on Montreal’s South Shore, studied fine arts at Concordia University, and holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of British Columbia. He is now a mentor at Simon Fraser University’s The Writer's Studio. He lives in New Westminster.