Seventh Son: My Road To Success by Jim Scott

 I was eight and had developed no thoughts around money other than there was never any extra. I also knew Thursdays were paydays, and for that day there was a lot of food in the house. Every other penny went to buy clothes and anything else we might need.  Not many dollar bills slipped into the cash pouch of my father's wallet and stayed there, and if there were any, they'd already been proactively claimed for future use. Nobody had spare money except, it seemed, Alphonsus Keefe. A business owner..... I knew, even at such a young age, that this was something worth striving for.

Seventh Son: My Road to Success is the memoir of self-made millionaire and successful entrepreneur Jim Scott. Born into a working class blended family of 12 children in the Central Newfoundland town of Windsor, life was rough for the seventh son of a paper mill worker and his hard-working bride. But as luck should have it, the Celtic fable of good luck and prosperity that is often bestowed upon a seventh son proved true. This memoir is an autobiographical series of snapshots demonstrating how one ordinary man turned misfortune to fortune, while staying true to his humble beginnings and family values. 

At the age of 16, on the heels of his father's death, the carefree days of boyhood were over. The agony of grief was tremendous and not having a father to assist with navigating the hurdles of being a teenager were tough. Thrust unwillingly into manhood and failing school, Scott left with Grade 8 education to help support the family. Like so many other Newfoundlanders, Scott tried studying at the college but ended up leaving the province and working menial jobs. Eventually he found success as a millwright and secured work with IOC in Labrador City. As is common in the trades industry, Scott was no stranger to a litany of layoffs and found himself travelling to find work. Over the years he worked on the Hibernia and Terra Nova Offshore Oil projects and travelled to the US to work on the Big Dig Project. Eventually, Scott's vast experience as a tradesman and savvy business acumen resulted in his decision to establish his own project and construction management firm at the age of forty four. Standard Consulting Inc. was born and lived for nine years as a multi million dollar operation until it was sold to a national engineering firm. Jim Scott was fifty-three.

Seventh Son: My Road to Success truly portrays the arduous journey to success and offers hope to those on a similar path. There are many turning points in the memoir as the author writes with truth and purpose, inviting the reader to walk in his shoes. At times it was overly detailed and I found myself skipping over some of the technical writing relating to his business affairs however, many people will easily relate to Scott's early experiences (childhood shenanigans, first romances, death and divorce) and will come to appreciate the lessons gleaned from his life that supported his success. Seventh Son: My Road to Success by Jim Scott is a Flanker Press publication. 

Fights, Film and Folklore ~ Tales with TR

When I heard Terry Ryan had a new book out (actually his second but at the time I didn't know about Tales Of A First Round Nothing), I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy.  Being a "Pearl Girl" with the 80's curl who grew up hanging out at the infamous Tin Can on Smallwood Drive every Friday night, hockey is in my blood. Everyone and anyone, who grew up in Mount Pearl in the seventies and eighties, has fond memories of The Blades, The Kentucky Cup, and the brutal high school hockey games between the Protestants and the Catholics (Go, Huskies, Go!!!), not to mention the infamous Zamboni driver, Phonse. So when one of your own makes it big in the hockey world, you kind of want to read about it!

Fights, Film and Folklore ~ Tales with TR is an up close and personal account of Mount Pearl native Terry Ryan's foray into the big boy world of the NHL and the Silver Screen. Written with an easy conversational style with the occasional expletive thrown in, readers will lap up the lighthearted locker room banter and the amazing tales of brute force often felt at the end of a one, two punch. No modern book about hockey would be complete without a discussion of the effects of such brutality and TR delivers on this front as well with an honest and frank discussion on the effects of Post Concussion Syndrome and the need to make improvements to the game that has become the fabric of our very being.

You spend half your life sacrificing for others in the most unique situations, actually taking bare-knuckle punches for some and blocking 100 mph shots for others. One day, you finally need someone to be there for you in the way of employment, and nothing happens, all the while watching your daughter have to eat Kraft Dinner, waiting for coupon books to provide that week's offering of protein.....Watching a guy scramble for food who just a short while earlier was skating out onto the Bell Centre ice, proud as a peacock in front of 20,000 adoring fans, is nauseating. I've been there. Many times. 

                                                                                                          Terry Ryan

Who really thinks about retirement when you're at the top of your game and in your 20's? Cue Part Two of Terry's memoir which is equally as entertaining and enlightening...life after the ice and what an athlete must do to find purpose, feed and support his family and stay sane all at the same time. Readers will enjoy hearing about the colorful stories and impromptu chance meetings with celebrities like Ethan Hawke, Jason Momoa and Gord Downie.

Fights, Film and Folklore is funny and thought provoking, well-written and quite frankly, hard to put down. For complete and utter enjoyment, I recommend pairing this book with a large cardboard plate of greasy stadium fries and your favorite cold beverage. Fights, Film and Folklore is a Flanker Press publication. 

Man and Dog ~ Through The Newfoundland Wilderness by Justin Barbour

In April 2017, 29 year old Justin Barbour and his 9 month old Cape Shore water dog, Saku, set out on an island expedition like no other. Traversing and portaging almost 700 kilometers through the wilderness of Newfoundland on a west to east adventure, the  pair learned to survive on meager amounts of food, living off the land and surviving every type of condition imaginable. If this was not a true test of survival, surly the physical and mental prowess demonstrated from minimal human contact and 17 kilometer days would be. However, this was more than just an extreme expedition or a test of will; this was a personal and spiritual journey of interdependence, respect and love between a man, his dog, and the land they travelled.  Man and Dog ~ Through The Newfoundland Wilderness is the modern quintessential Newfoundland adventure the likes that hasn't been seen since the early explorers of the late 19th century.

Breaking through the riverside bush, I laid eyes on what awaited us. Prying the green fir boughs from my face, I spied open water and precarious ice on Burnt Pond River. Much of what was in my view was still frozen, but out toward a narrow channel, squeezed together by two points of land, was a clear opening across. With the snow now coming down sideways, I had to get out there for a closer inspection. I was reluctant to ease out on the disintegrating ice, but there wasn't much choice. Saku stayed close. It was black in places, and what looked to be dead standing trees in the cove had no doubt created more deadly air pockets. To our left a small stream trickled into the river, and we hopped over its four foot width and continued on the other side toward the channel, which was about 200 yards away.

                                                                                                                                        ~ Day 14

Driven by a love of sport and fitness, Justin Barbour's thirst for exploration and adventure was initially inspired by a canoe trip undertaken as part of a Physical Education degree at Memorial University. Fueled by a fascination with nature, this course stirred a "thirst for exploration and adventure" and, as Barbour himself has said, "rekindled my passion to move through the great outdoors by my own power and with everything I needed to survive within reach." Man and Dog is an easy to read memoir. Written in a conversational style, readers will feel as though they are camped out with Barbour, sharing a fire or a meal of trout soup. This book intimately details the day by day highs and lows, moments of euphoria and challenges experienced by Justin and Saku. From navigating the tuckamore of Shoe Hills to bushwhacking through the backcountry; traversing through the Long Range Mountains during a lingering winter to staring death in the face while rafting  down Salmon Arm; Barbour chronicles his thoughts and feelings and daily life or death choices  made during the four stages of his expedition. Always positive, readers will be impressed by Barbour's knowledge, passion, tenacity and meticulous attention to detail.  Though there were many mistakes made along the way, Barbour is quick to recognize them and even quicker to learn from them. Most impressive, however, are the thoughtful realizations, introspective comments and spiritual awakening that is evident throughout the entire memoir, gleaned from Barbour's pushed-to-the-brink experiences. 

The rush was still pulsing through my body. All I wanted to do was hold Saku, relax with him, and curl into a ball by the fire. So many thoughts ran through my head. Was I pushing things too hard? Maybe I had gotten complacent. Up to this point in my four years of wilderness travel, even after travelling hundreds of kilometers through some tricky terrains, I had yet to have any life threatening ordeals.......Now I had gotten my first real taste of nature's power and realized the Hydro rivers around here were not to be messed with. I had felt invincible living this life in the wild, but not anymore, not out here.....You learn by doing, and the opportunity, although a bit out of my skill range, was there. It was a small window, and I had every right to go after it. That's the thrill I chase. 

                                                                                                                                   ~ Day 35

Man and Dog ~ Through The Newfoundland Wilderness is a book for all to enjoy! Readers, whether nature lovers or city dwellers, will get to live the journey first-hand from the comfort of their own home and will, no doubt , be left to contemplate what their own big adventure will be. Boil the kettle and prepare to enjoy a mug up in the big open land. You will be left inspired! Man and Dog is a Flanker Press publication.