- Type of Event:
- Non-CAMH Mental Health Events
- Date:
-
September 12, 2024
- Time:
-
7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
- Location:
-
Arrell Family Foundation Auditorium
-
1025 Queen Street West
-
Toronto
-
ON
Event Overview
Six-time NBA All-Star DeMar DeRozan has been called a “basketball savant” (ESPN) and “the best closer in the NBA” (GQ). But when he went public with his depression, it sparked a conversation that reached far beyond the court. By speaking out and breaking the stigma of mental illness, he added a new, seldom-heard voice to the mental health dialogue: that of a successful Black male athlete, openly naming his pain and advocating for others to do the same.
Now it’s time to tell the full story. Born and raised in Compton, DeRozan was no stranger to hardship—he grew up in poverty and lost friends to gang violence. Practising in worn-out school gyms and community centres, fuelled by hunger and a desire to prove himself, he began to rise. But doubts followed. In Above the Noise, DeRozan opens up about both his proudest triumphs and the times he felt so weighed down he couldn’t get out of bed. He reflects on what it took to make a name for himself in a new country after getting drafted by the Toronto Raptors. He recounts the pressure of playing with veteran athletes as a twenty-year-old rookie, and the pain of losing role models. And he reveals what it felt like to be traded away from the team that he wanted to play with for the rest of his career.
From a scared, angry kid to a confident father of five, DeRozan traces his journey to basketball stardom and the forces that honed him into the player—and the slowly healing person—he is today. His memoir will encourage anyone who has ever felt alone in their struggles and inspire people to rise above the noise and speak their truth.
Join us in the Arrell Family Foundation Auditorium (McCain Complex Care & Recovery building, 1025 Queen Street West, 2nd Floor) as we get in conversation with DeMar DeRozan about his groundbreaking memoir, Above the Noise, chronicling a public struggle with depression in hopes that other people will not suffer alone.
Please note this is a ticketed event. Registration is available through CAMH programs including, Shkaabe Makwa, the Child, Youth and Emerging Adult Program (CYEAP), Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario, and Substance Abuse Program for African Canadian and Caribbean Youth (SAPACCY).