Izabella Zalewski has made the 2019 CBC Nonfiction Prize longlist for I Lived With a Dead Man in My House.

Izabella Zalewski is a Kelowna-based writer and registered clinical counsellor in private practice with a focus on contemplative psychotherapy and spirituality. As a writer, Izabella is drawn toward contemplation of the human experience as witnessed through one's sense of intellect, emotion, intuition and spirit. She is currently working on her first poetry collection, titled The Mood of Broken. When she isn't writing, you can find her joyfully reading, painting or hiking with her daughters, husband and two dogs.

"Emotional complexities of sexual abuse."

"The inspiration behind the story was a desire to birth a greater sense of awareness and understanding of the very polarizing and labyrinthine emotions that constituted my experience of sexual abuse. In the artistic expression of my very personal story was a want to express not just the fear, agony, aloneness and loss, but also the love for and connection to my father. A complicated connection to be sure, but one I deeply wanted to acknowledge."

A small, bright master bedroom, with two nightstands. A phone on the right bedside nightstand. A queen bed with a large mirror on the wall facing the bed. A white cover with dark blue squares. A 25-year-old girl sleeping.

It was 7 a.m. in the morning when he died a second time. Disturbed from my sleep, I answered the call to hear Mother's shaken voice announce that he was gone. He never made it to the Mayo Clinic ... bled to death ... a ruptured vein in the neck ... so much blood to clean up off the floor ... cancer must have gotten too big ... she cancelled the appointment.

The winner of the 2019 CBC Nonfiction Prize will receive $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, have their story published on CBC Books and attend a writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Four finalists will each receive $1,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts and have their story published on CBC Books.

The shortlist will be announced on Sept. 18, 2019. The winner will be announced on Sept. 25, 2019.