Thanks for writing this excellent and absorbing book, Mr. Henry
This is an excellent memoir written in a plain language. I wish I could get my hands on more books like these. This is exactly how memoirs should be written. Thankfully there are not too many idle philosophical musings which would have bored me to death. Rather this book is realistic and full of action from start to finish.
The opening chapters of the book describe a seemingly timid Henry for whom even a mere dream is enough to leave him with the feelings of confusion and helplessness:
“I was eleven when I first had the dream, or whatever it was, as I’m not quite sure. It wasn’t a nightmare, nor was it scary – it was just exhausting, and caused me to break out into a sweat and wake up. I wouldn’t have remembered it had it only occurred the once, but it didn’t. It came back many times over the next three or four years, and each time it left me feeling weak and puzzled. And it wasn’t as if I could opt out of the dream whenever I wanted to because I couldn’t.”
Who would have thought that this boy would not only be able to adjust himself to the harsh, cold weather of Canada’s Northern Territories but also adjust himself to the lifestyle and culture of the aboriginal Dene people there who are like, culturally speaking, ages far behind Henry. Yet that is exactly what he did. Would anyone leave his family and corporate business success far behind for an adventure like this which is full of pitfalls? But Henry did just that. He describes his travels in a very lucid language which makes it easy for almost anyone to relate to his journey. From the book’s blurb and description I had thought that this book is not my cup of tea, but a few pages down I realized how wrong I was! The book is filled with photos which make it an even more fascinating read. The epilog is about what he’d learned from his spiritual journey of self-fulfillment.
“When one considers how much more we know about everything today than we did a hundred years ago, and how the quality of life for the average person has improved with time, we can be hopeful that in future generations, the “ideological differences” problem and “the fame and money” obsessions will get resolved, and man, as a life species, will become much more enlightened and happier.”
Amen to that, and thanks for writing this excellent and absorbing book, Mr. Henry. I for one admire your courage and perseverance; it is truly commendable.