Showing results by publisher "FriesenPress" in Biographies & Memoirs

Really, Granddad? is a collection of fifty very short, highly entertaining, positive stories for both children and adults. This book chronicles the arc of a mischievous little boy to a young man of ethics, and celebrates the power and beauty of family love across the generations.

After two decades of mental, emotional, and physical afflictions, J. T. Wahlberg had had enough, and he was all set to end his 20-year addiction to alcohol. There was just one problem: He “forgot” to research the potential risks of detoxing on his own without any medical supervision. Armed with cans of Campbell’s Chunky soup, plenty of water, and a few tips he had picked up from the movie Trainspotting, he hunkered down in his apartment for what he imagined would be a couple of days of pain followed by a life of sunny sobriety.

Faith can be shaken by trauma. R.J. Burton knows this well. As a young teen, she experienced abuse at the hands of an older man. The trial that ensued exonerated the perpetrator while condemning the victim in the eyes of her community, sending her into a spiral of doubt in herself, in God, and in supposedly Christ-loving people.

Throughout his half-century career, self-made businessman David Semas has drawn inspiration from President Theodore Roosevelt’s famous speech on “The Man in the Arena” in 1910, which was about daring to risk everything rather than playing it safe. In the real world, roughly a third of businesses will implode within two years, and half won’t make it past five years. But statistics can’t tell the full story. This memoir provides a detailed road map of trials, challenges, and pitfalls while building a business and offers a case history of achievement and failure.

Gordon Gill is a gentle, hard-working Métis man whose journey began on his Iroquois-Cree grandfather’s trapline and evolved into a successful business career. His story is one of change and the passing of not just one, but several eras in the development of Canada’s North and the evolution of the Indigenous struggle. A Métis Man's Dream: From Traplines to Tugboats in Canada's North details the history he met, and made, along the way.

At 50 years of age, Amber Needham suddenly went from having perfect vision to becoming blind. Despite the life-changing tragedy of losing her sight and the frustrating challenges this created in her day-to-day life, she eventually came to accept, manage, and even celebrate her blindness. Her disability taught her a new way to see—with her heart instead of her eyes.

Hearing that the British Red Cross were recruiting truck drivers to deliver relief supplies in the active conflict zones of the former Yugoslavia, Roger thought the work sounded interesting. What he experienced during his mission with the International Committee of the Red Cross proved to be much more. Living the realities of humanitarian relief work and witnessing the tragedies of what war could do and did to its civilian victims, was life-changing.

Love Is Blind is the memoir of Ruth Vallis. Blind before the age of three, Ruth was the youngest pioneer of integration in the public school system in Canada, blazing a trail for many to follow. At every stage of her extraordinary life, Ruth defied the low expectations of others, and took on such challenges as biking from Ottawa to Toronto, completing a master’s of science degree online before technology accessibility was legislated, and more. Through it all there was her tender, tough-loving mother, Peach.

A survival story and celebration of one woman’s life, My Mother's Legacy is also a glimpse of the spirit, culture, and history of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. From life on the trapline in the Far North to meeting the Pope at the Vatican, this is Angie Mercredi-Crerar’s journey of perseverance and triumph—as told by her daughter.

As a college dropout and part-time restaurant worker in downtown Toronto, Kevin is stuck in a rut. He wanders the city aimlessly and lives a solitary life while his mental health steadily declines. After reconnecting with an old college crush, he gets strung along by her once again while simultaneously getting initiated into an underground group of pickup artists promising him a remedy for his romantic frustration.

Through prose and poetry, A World Diverse is a personal account of David Edmond’s 34 plus year career in the Royal Canadian Air Force. His inspiration to pick up the pen came after the death of his wife due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. The opportunity to serve across Canada exposed him to a variety of personalities, and the chance to build strong friendships.

Speaking My Truth is about a young man named Abdulahi Hassan who is born with a physical disability called Cerebral Palsy and tries to live a normal life. Regardless of his daily struggles he faces physically and mentally he is slowly learning to speak his truth and taking control of his own narrative one step at a time with a single beautiful smile.

I Never Walked Alone is the autobiography of my father, Jerry Hale. I feel very privileged to introduce you to his story. It is the story of some of his boyhood events in Texas during the days of corn and cotton. It tells of his move with his family to the Peace River country of Northern Alberta. As you listen to this book you will know what it is like to carve a farm and ranch out of bush land, raise a family of five children, of which I am the eldest, then ultimately lose his home to the Bank.

Growing up in rural Saskatchewan, Troy Schaab’s life focused on hockey and the farm—though his true love was music. Spending the last two years of high school in North Battleford to play hockey, he soon realized that his dream of becoming a heavy metal drummer was not realistic, and he began preparing for a future back on the farm. Before he packed his bags, his friend persuaded him to come to an open house at Saskatoon’s Western Academy Broadcasting College, which changed Troy’s life forever.

Enduring Art, Active Faith is a collection of short stories, essays, and poetry prepared by three generations of Robert Proudfoot’s family.