Seasons of Hope
CBC Books | CBC | Posted: May 23, 2017 7:18 PM | Last Updated: July 10, 2017
James Bartleman
James Bartleman, Ontario's first Indigenous lieutenant governor, looks back over 70 years to his childhood and youth to describe how learning to read at any early age led him to dream dreams, empowering him to serve his country as an ambassador. In time, Bartleman's exciting and fulfilling career as a Canadian diplomat took him to a dozen countries around the world, from Bangladesh to Cuba and from Australia to South Africa.
After a vicious beating in a hotel room robbery in South Africa, however, he was forced to come to terms with a deepening depression. In the end, Bartleman found new meaning in life when he became the Queen's representative in Ontario and mobilized the public to support his initiatives, championing books and education for aboriginal children.
Seasons of Hope is the extraordinary story of an extraordinary man, and of his constant journey to hope. (From Dundurn Press)
From the book
I was caught up in a frantic attempt to stay alive. My broken nose was filled with congealing blood and I couldn't breathe. I would die a horrible death by suffocation unless I removed the gag, but my hands were tied. Desperately trying to remain calm, I managed to spit it out. My persecutor was starting to stuff it back in when I began to beg for my life. I told him I would surely die if he forced the gag down my throat. I had a wife back in Pretoria who would be widowed and children who would be left without a father. I would make no noise as he made his departure. Why not simply tie me to an armchair? He could trust me.
From Seasons of Hope by James Bartleman ©2016. Published by Dundurn Press.