Author Bio - John Vaillant

Born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts,  John has always been drawn to the wilderness from a young age. This allure was so strong that right out of college, he left continental America and took some time hitchhiking to Alaska. Once there, for a period of 3 years he spent his time salmon fishing and building boats in the remote fishing village of Egegik. Here he shared a 10 by 14 foot cabin with two other men and a dog. They stored all their tools, their dynamite, inside and there wasn't a tree around him for 50 to 60 miles. It was this experience from which he derives his confidence.
In his first award-winning book "The Golden Spruce", he questioned the notion of whether the damage we inflict on the environment can ever be justified. He has always written extensively about the conflicts between man and nature, but it wasn't until someone asked him why he liked to write that he realized this. Vaillant got his start relatively late in journalism. Now he has been a magazine writer for 8 years most notably writing pieces for the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, and Outside.
Vaillant now lives in Vancouver with his wife and 2 children.
His new book The Tiger won Canada's highest honor, British Columbia’s National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction and the Globe and Mail's best book. Look forward to it on next weeks review!

Book Review - Persuasion

First let me say that normally non-fiction is not for me, so at first I was skeptical when this book was recommended to me. However, I learned that it's good to keep an open mind because a good story will always be just that.
Contrary to the title, this is not just a book on how to persuade people. It is a very real, and very intimate story of how persuasion can change your life. While it's true that persuasion is a very useful tool in business and in your career, it applies equally to all  other areas of your life. Most importantly, we cannot forget that although it is helpful for us to persuade others, it is also important to be able to persuade yourself. If you need proof then you need only look at Arlene. At age 30, she was a single mother with joint custody of 4 children and no job. Within 10 years she became the CEO of Venture communications. The turning point in her life was when she persuaded herself that nothing is impossible.With persuasion Arlene was able to change her life for the better. Can you do the same?

Not only was this an inspirational story, but it was also very personal. Sometimes I find it hard to relate to someone who lives in the spotlight because it feels like they are on a whole other level from ourselves. But I found this story brought her down to earth and made her seem much more real. Most of you probably know Arlene from her role in Dragons Den, but very few people know about her back story and it was absolutely enthralling to hear of her journey to where she is now. It's not impossible to change your life. You just need the right perspective, and the right amount of persuasion. This was a great book with an important message. I strongly recommend this book to everyone.

"It's never too late to change your life. But the hardest person to sell on the idea of your potential is almost always yourself." - Arlene Dickinson