Walk To Hope

Tom Jacobs and his young friend Ryan will unwittingly be the principal witnesses as the afternoon's events unfold. Tom is currently wrestling with the pressure created by the very high expectation of others for his life as a violinist capable of walking the world concert platforms. He is also smarting from a humiliating experience caused by his new classmate Wendy Fraser, even though they have never spoken. Wendy Fraser's world is a dark place-she is a victim of bullying, without love or hope in her life. She is yelling at a God she believes doesn't love or care and probably even exist; caught up in her despair because she didn't die in a suspicious car accident in Asia with her best friend, Rachel. Will the criminal gang thought to be behind the crash reach out against her family again, just because her father's honesty and integrity cost the gang millions? Juliette and her gang of schoolyard bullies are even now stalking Wendy for the perceived further slights they have imagined during the week, even though they have deliberately targeted Wendy all week. These three are about to collide violently in a way that will change their lives forever. How will their response to the unexpected consequences of this collision play out in their lives? What hope is there for their future?

This cleverly written fiction book is meant to educate people of all ages about Diabetes. The delightful animals in the story have a unique way of using rhyming words while addressing the seriousness of Diabetes. The walk Diabetes is on with HOPE is a timeline of finding out about the disease, learning what it takes to manage Diabetes, getting the necessary support and receiving encouragement to cope, while trying to find a cure. The animals portray what diabetics routinely have to do to manage the disease; not wanting to do finger sticks, counting carbs, and taking insulin. HOPE spells out what Diabetes needs. She convinces the animals to support Diabetes and to keep fighting for a cure. She wrote the book to promote Diabetes Awareness, especially on November 14th since it is World Diabetes Day. Diabetes, though, is a disease that must be taken seriously every day of the year. Her book is a children’s fiction story; however, diabetics and other people of all ages can learn from it.

May 24, 2018. Gail and and I step off our front porch. We wait for our dog-child Styxx to appear in the front window, as he always will. We wave goodbye, as we always do, and make our way across busy Portage Avenue. We stroll down the quiet residential streets of Winnipeg's west end, beneath canopies of just-emerging leaves. Winter is behind us. In its place is a fresh explosion of heat and green. This is a time of renewal. Lawn mowers hum with the season's first cut. Above us, an arborist's chain saw chatters loudly. And there's the high-pitched chorus of children playing at recess. We are on our way to CancerCare Manitoba.This is not the walk we had planned to take, back in January and February. By rights, we would be well into our plans and preparations for a long walk later this spring. The Camino Frangicena was in our sights, a long pilgrimage from Canterbury to Rome crossing Britain, France, Switzerland and Italy.A small lump altered our direction. It would take us on a very different path.

This is an inspiring story of one womans personal transformation from breast cancer, and how the music of John Denver served as a springboard to help extricate her from severe depression brought on by the disease and its radical treatment. Kay Johnson would later connect with John, talking with him on the phone and eventually meeting him in person. After recovering, Kay was asked to begin a Volunteer Music Therapy Program for Children and Adolescents with Cancer at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. This was a pilot project sponsored by the New York State Division of the American Cancer Society. John asked to be kept in the loop regarding the program. When he performed in Buffalo again, he donated free concert tickets for all the children in the music program, a real Rocky Mountain High for these kids! Kay traveled for the ACS, telling her personal cancer story and sharing how music helped in her recovery. She would use powerful music some of it original in her presentations. Kay would go on to be selected as One of Ten Outstanding Young Women of America in 1977 for this work. The book demonstrates the power of music as a therapeutic tool for rehabilitation from illness and how lifes darkest, most challenging moments can be times of positive transformation.

The all-new, expanded follow-up to southwestern British Columbia’s best-selling hiking guidebook—now featuring trails on the islands and northern Washington. For nearly fifty years, David and Mary Macaree’s iconic 103 Hikes in Southwestern British Columbia has been the province’s most popular and most trusted hiking guide, with more than 100,000 copies sold to date. Author Stephen Hui carries on the Macarees’ legacy in 105 Hikes in and around Southwestern British Columbia—an all-new, expanded follow-up inspired by their beloved classic. With an additional selection of trails on the Gulf Islands and in Washington’s North Cascades, options for hiking with children, and rainy day recommendations, 105 Hikes covers a wider area and wider range of abilities than its predecessor. Like the Macarees, Hui provides detailed information about how to get to each trailhead (including transit options, where available), distance and elevation gains, estimated hiking times, and points of natural or historical interest. But he also includes all-new features such as an at-a-glance summary of all the hikes in the book; tips for hiking safely and ethically; clear, topographical color maps; a rating system for hike quality and difficulty; Indigenous place names where appropriate; and shorter or longer options for every outing.

Discover 55 of the most beautiful hikes near Vancouver, each with an exciting destination to reward your efforts. Planning your next hiking journey in beautiful British Columbia? This new book from the bestselling author of 105 Hikes will show you how to reach the most breathtaking hiking destinations in the province. 55 new day trips: celebrate nature big and small with astonishing hikes you can do in one day. Large geographical area: the book covers Duffey Lake and the Stein Valley in the north, Washington’s Cascade Mountains in the south, Nanaimo and the Gulf Islands in the west, and Manning Park and the Coquihalla in the east. Diverse destinations: including astonishing views, swimming holes, beautiful rivers and lakes, and even a 600-year-old tree. History and ecology: the author acknowledges the Indigenous territory each trail crosses, and points out nearby museums, wetlands, temples, and memorials. Giving back: A portion of the author’s royalties will go to the Hope Mountain Centre for Outdoor Learning to support trail building and maintenance. With each hike, bestselling author and seasoned BC hiker Stephen Hui shares everything you need to know to make your day a success. Bonus features include: A photograph of every hike Topographic maps Difficulty ratings At-a-glance summaries of special features Recommendations for kids and families, and shoulder season.

Set in both the wilds and slums of Kenya, a powerful story about a brother and sister's brave journey to find a place to call home. 13-year-old Muchoki and his younger sister, Jata, can barely recognize what's become of their lives. Only weeks ago they lived in a bustling Kenyan village, going to school, playing soccer with friends, and helping at their parents' store. But sudden political violence has killed their father and destroyed their home. Now, Muchoki, Jata, and their ailing mother live in a tent in an overcrowded refugee camp. By day, they try to fend off hunger and boredom. By night, their fears about the future are harder to keep at bay. Driven by both hope and desperation, Muchoki and Jata set off on what seems like an impossible journey: to walk hundreds of kilometers to find their last remaining family.

A moving story of father-son reconciliation told by a charismatic aboriginal star When his father was given a diagnosis of terminal cancer, Winnipeg broadcaster and musician Wab Kinew decided to spend a year reconnecting with the accomplished but distant aboriginal man who’d raised him. The Reason You Walk spans that 2012 year, chronicling painful moments in the past and celebrating renewed hopes and dreams for the future. As Kinew revisits his own childhood in Winnipeg and on a reserve in Northern Ontario, he learns more about his father's traumatic childhood at residential school. An intriguing doubleness marks The Reason You Walk, itself a reference to an Anishinaabe ceremonial song. Born to an Anishinaabe father and a non-native mother, he has a foot in both cultures. He is a Sundancer, an academic, a former rapper, a hereditary chief and an urban activist. His father, Tobasonakwut, was both a beloved traditional chief and a respected elected leader who engaged directly with Ottawa. Internally divided, his father embraced both traditional native religion and Catholicism, the religion that was inculcated into him at the residential school where he was physically and sexually abused. In a grand gesture of reconciliation, Kinew's father invited the Roman Catholic bishop of Winnipeg to a Sundance ceremony in which he adopted him as his brother. Kinew writes affectingly of his own struggles in his twenties to find the right path, eventually giving up a self-destructive lifestyle to passionately pursue music and martial arts. From his unique vantage point, he offers an inside view of what it means to be an educated aboriginal living in a country that is just beginning to wake up to its aboriginal history and living presence. Invoking hope, healing and forgiveness, The Reason You Walk is a poignant story of a towering but damaged father and his son as they embark on a journey to repair their family bond. By turns lighthearted and solemn, Kinew gives us an inspiring vision for family and cross-cultural reconciliation, and for a wider conversation about the future of aboriginal peoples.