Where The River Bends

<p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Join the author's quest for self-discovery and acceptance of his otherness. From his humble beginnings in Windsor the automotive capital of Canada he navigates a multicultural post-war Canadian backdrop. Despite deep loss and hardship he is blessed with good fortune and celebrates strong family ties.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>Spanning seven decades from the 1950s to the present day he transitions from sheltered childhood innocence to adulthood. Witnessing world events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis Presidential assassinations and impeachments antiwar demonstrations and the FLQ crisis he finds solace in the music of the Motown era the British Music Invasion and iconic concerts like Woodstock and Jesus Christ Superstar.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>As he matures he follows the scientific principles of observation hypothesis and conclusion leading him into the pharmacy profession. He faces trauma rooted in his underlying nature diagnosed only in adulthood. His journey continues with his wife a strong professional disabled by fibromyalgia and witnesses his firstborn's declaration as a transgender woman and the subsequent grief of losing a son. He endures the loss of his second-born daughter to a fast-moving carcinoma battles depression general anxiety disorder PTSD and becomes disabled after a pulmonary embolism and a diagnosis of COPD and chronic pain.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style=background-color: rgba(255 255 255 1); color: rgba(15 17 17 1)>The closing chapters reflect on his adulthood diagnosis of being on the autism spectrum his spirituality and his good fortune. His quest realized he concludes with observations acceptance and a celebration of otherness.</span></p><p><br></p>