Long time, no post

Just over a week ago, I heard from a former Vancouver 911 operator, someone who outlined the same types of problems I ran into. I've heard from a volunteer firefighter in Quebec who quit after first watching someone burn to death after being pinned in a crashed pickup truck, and then seeing the victims of a plane crash. He spent six months in his department. Both of them have trouble shaking what they've had to deal with. I'm beginning to wonder about the wisdom of continuing to read and reread parts of my book. Today, I head to Burlington to read at Different Drummer, and I'm still at sea about what I'm going to read. When I've read - and during some interviews - I've gotten choked up and close to tears. There is no safe ground in the book, and every place I go, I hear that there are plenty of people facing the same sorts of things. Several people have told me that they think the book serves a valuable service - I hope so. I hope it doesn't keep anyone from joining a department, but I hope it lets them see the possibilities. Oh, and the Globe and Mail's reviewer really liked the book. I might well pinch the review and post it here.