Former Beirut hostage Terry Waite to talk about experience at BroadstairsLit

Jane Wenham-Jones with Terry Waite Photo Silver Apples Photography

 Former hostage Terry Waite CBE  will be appearing at the Pavilion, Broadstairs, on May 19.

The one-time envoy to the Archbishop of Canterbury will talk about his time in captivity, his book Solitude  and the newly republished Travels with a Primate, an account of  his time spent travelling with Robert Runcie. The author and humanitarian, who spent 1,763 days in captivity, was captured by the Lebanese terror group Islamist Jihad  in 1987, when he went to Beirut to negotiate for the release of John McCarthy and Brian Keenan. His first four years were in solitary confinement.

Terry Waite will be in conversation  with Broadstairs author Jane Wenham-Jones, who has interviewed him before.

She said: “Terry is a remarkable, humbling man. His story is extraordinary. He has undergone such suffering, the sort of experience which would have broken most of us, yet he has tried to understand his captors, rather than lose himself in bitterness, and has a terrific sense of humour!”

Terry Waite has spent the time since his incarceration, lecturing around the world and writing about his experiences – writings he started in his head while locked up in war-torn Beirut. He is also the founder of Hostage International, a nonprofit organisation dedicated to supporting the families and associates of as well as providing support to hostages after release.

Denise Martin-Harker, director of BroadstairsLit, which is organising the event, said:  “We feel very privileged to be welcoming Terry Waite to Broadstairs. He is truly inspirational and we have a large and enthusiastic audience waiting to greet him. It is going to be a very special afternoon.”

The event with Terry Waite begins at 3pm on Sunday, May 19. Tickets are now very limited and will not be offered on the door. Book online at www.broadstairslit.co.uk or phone 07397 337847 to check availability.

BroadstairsLit was founded in 2017 and puts on literary events throughout the year. You can hear Jane Wenham-Jones talking about the current programme here.

Still to come in 2019

July 5: Sunny Ormonde (Lilian from The Archers) performs her one-woman show.

September 12:  Party Nightthe launch of The Big Five O – a novel set in Thanet, with special guests and live music.

November 3:  Jonathan Aitken. The former Thanet MP talks about his new life as a prison chaplain.

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