The idea for Legacy really sprang from my interest in family genealogy. Over the years my maternal aunt wrote a manuscript of her memories and provided links to those people in her/our family that she remembers having an impact or influence on her life. My paternal uncle spent numerous hours researching his/our family history. As a result of both these fine relatives, now deceased, my heritage was somewhat preserved.
Content to keep this information in a drawer, I continued with my busy life, unaware of the many gaps in my knowledge of family events, the decisions that were made and the impacts they caused. And while waiting for the time to start collecting the information to fill these gaps, my Father, the last remaining window into our family Legacy, passed in 2017. Mom passed in 1987.
Losing my father brought me face-to-face with my mortality and a need to write and preserve information of my life, and at the very least, to leave Stories to Tell My Daughters Before I Die. I started a blog and wrote a random recollection of anecdotes from my career with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
I made the blog public. While the readership was small, my posse was loyal to my regular postings and encouraged me to continue. The idea of a transition from a blog to a book came from them. I found my local publisher (Tim Gordon – Burnstown Publishing) and through him my editor (John Stevens).
John recommended that I self-edit the stories into a first-person account, organize them in chronological order and bridge each story with a personal reflection of my life of the time. That advice and John’s subsequent editing and advice made my blog, a book.
The writing was cathartic as I reached back for memories of not only what I did, but how I felt doing it. Reality struck over the impact that “my” decisions had on family and generally the reasons why those, sometimes selfish, decisions were made.
Revelations emerged, surprising even myself, as I was challenged to face my past, and reflect on my development as a person, a police officer, a husband, and a father.
My Mother always told me that I was perfect, but writing this book has caused me to question that assessment. I’ve made mistakes. Although Lindsey and Allyson have grown into powerful and confident women, I was absent for too much of their development. Credit must be given to their Mom.
Unequivocally, if Terry had not come into my life, I would not have reached the level of professional achievement nor matured into the man that I am today. She is without question my best friend, and to those who have her as a friend, you know just how special that can be.
Now even in this introduction, I have rambled too long. Legacy. Stories to Tell My Daughters Before I Die was published in November 2019.