• Silver Linings Stories of Gratitude, Resiliency and Growth Through Adversity

    Created by: Janice Landry
    Publisher: Pottersfield Press

    Silver Linings author Janice Landry asks the very tough question, “What are you the most grateful for?” to fifteen inspiring Canadians from five provinces and two esteemed guests from the United States. One of seventeen is Dr. Bob Emmons, considered to be the world’s pre-eminent expert in the study of gratitude.

    Gratitude and resiliency are key cornerstones in the field of mental health. Science-based evidence, discussed by Dr. Emmons and others, underlines the importance of developing and practising gratitude. Research proves being grateful is good for us, both mentally and physically. Gratitude can improve our resiliency before challenges occur in our lives, which they inevitably do.

    Let’s face it: it’s easy to be grateful when things are running smoothly. The people in Silver Linings have discovered that gifts may actually emerge from life’s toughest challenges. Landry’s own gratitude practice was shaken to its core when both her mother and a close friend, assisted-death advocate Audrey Parker, died within weeks of one another while she was writing Silver Linings.

    $21.95
  • The Legacy Letters How Trauma Affects Our Lives

    Created by: Janice Landry
    Publisher: Pottersfield Press

    Halifax author and journalist Janice Landry returns to her roots, as she revisits high-profile Canadian police investigations she covered as a novice television reporter during the 1980s and 1990s. One story involves the unsolved murder of British Columbia teenager Andrea King, whose remains were found in 1992, in Nova Scotia woods, nearly a year after she disappeared. Landry also discusses the 1989 disappearance of Nova Scotia teenager Kimberly McAndrew, who was last seen leaving a Halifax Canadian Tire store where she worked. McAndrew remains missing.

    The victims and families have had a major impact on Landry and the public. She hopes this book leads to a break in both cases, as well as other unsolved crimes. It will also shed light on the pain the families continue to endure.

    Landry also speaks with Canadians from five provinces, including first responders and front-line workers. These men and women bravely discuss how trauma, in and out of their work, has profoundly affected their lives, loved ones, and outlook.

    The author and her guests each have written a “Legacy Letter” for the public. Each letter is deeply personal and conveys a heartfelt message of loss and hope. This book is Landry’s attempt to help them regain some of what has been lost.

    $21.95
  • The Price We Pay

    Created by: Janice Landry
    Publisher: Pottersfield Press

    Decision-making happens throughout our lives. Some decisions we are proud of, others we regret, but they shape our lives. This book examines extraordinary events told to the author by more than 25 remarkable people. The men and women are police officers, firefighters, Canadian military personnel, Emergency Health Services (EHS) attendants, grief counsellors, social workers and ordinary citizens. All have faced adversity. Some have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and that is an important part of their story.

    These are stories of hope and healing in the face of regret, challenge, and, in some cases, life and death. One high-ranking Canadian police officer reveals to the author, for the first time publicly, that he has been diagnosed with PTSD. The diagnosis came after years of demanding first responder work both in Canada and abroad, including devastating earthquake and flood recovery and relief efforts.

    In another case, a former Ontario paramedic describes how a decision he made at a murder scene left him reeling. He has since started a non-profit organization in the victim’s honour and travelled coast to coast in Canada raising awareness that “Heroes are Human.”

    A mother of two describes her split-second decision to drive her car, at high speed, into a ditch alongside a Nova Scotia highway. When her car malfunctioned and a head-on collision was imminent, she acted selflessly to avoid killing or injuring anyone. Her near-death experience and dramatic roadside rescue by two members of the military will haunt readers of this true story.

    Underpinning the work is Landry’s interview with the man who accidentally caused the horrific house fire which was the focus of her previous work, The Sixty Second Story. That book pays homage to her late father, Baz Landry, a Canadian Medal of Bravery recipient, and his Halifax firefighting peers. Together they rescued an eight-week-old infant from a burning home in 1978.

    $21.95
  • Sixty Second Story When Lives are on the Line

    Created by: Janice Landry
    Publisher: Pottersfield Press

    The Sixty Second Story is a gripping and emotional tribute to Canada’s first responders – the professionals and volunteers who repeatedly risk their lives in the face of danger and death.

    The book pays homage to a father, to the fallen, and to those who respond when the alarm sounds. It also frankly discusses the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and critical incident stress (CIS) on both first responders and their families. Discussions with veteran firefighters and a former Halifax police officer take the reader back to incidents dating from the 1950s like they happened yesterday. The police officer’s suicide attempt led him to a second career helping first responders living with PTSD and CIS.

    $19.95