Media

For media inquiries, use the contact form to contact Ken or call him at 867-821-4004

RADIO:

Dec. 15, CBC North on Sandi Coleman’s A New Day program. 6:00-8:30 a.m.

PRESS RELEASES:

Yukon Author Ken Matthies Interview with CBC Radio North (Yukon) about his new book “How to Survive the Death of a Child” scheduled to air December 15, 2011 on early morning program

Author Ken Matthies first media interview in connection with the publication of his new book on how to survive and recover from the death of a child now available worldwide on Amazon.com as a Kindle books edition, is scheduled to air December 15, 2011 on ‘A New Day’ program.

CBC Radio North in Whitehorse Yukon is scheduled to air their interview on December 15,2011 with local author Ken Matthies on host Sandi Coleman’s ‘A New Day’ program which runs from 6:00 to 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time, on the topic of his recently published book “How to Survive the Death of a Child: A Father’s Story of Healing Light”. In the interview the author gives listeners a powerful personal insight into the emotional journey undertaken by him in the writing of his book.

Speaking with show host Sandi Coleman, Ken Matthies describes the sequence of events which took place during those moments of time in which he received the news of his pilot daughter’s death in a helicopter crash earlier that same morning. He describes the emotional impact of it which caused him to crumple to the floor in shock, the telephone falling from his hand in the process, and tells of the numbness which accompanied his actions in the hours that followed the devastating news of her sudden death.

Responding to a question about the creation of the book, the author describes how the writing of it actually began on the second anniversary date of her death, as inspired by his daughter’s mother and her belief in his ability to share in written form the stories and the details of their daughter’s life and her death as experienced by him. He also tells of their shared belief that the book forms a written legacy for their granddaughter, the young child to whom it is dedicated that was left behind by her mother’s sudden death. Ken Matthies speaks too of his early realization in the writing process that his words had the potential to be of help to other grieving parents looking to find healing from the loss of their child, just as he was himself in that period of time.

Host Sandi Coleman also queries the author about his personal connection to Hospice Yukon, a local area grief counselling service. In his response Ken Matthies details the crucial role the counselling received from this organization played in literally saving his life and pointing him towards a safe path which would ultimately lead to his personal healing. The interview is scheduled to air on the same day as Hospice Yukon’s annual Lights of Life ceremonies held to remember the lives of loved ones, to which the author is an annual attendee in support of those services.

Readers of this news release and listeners to this interview interested in learning more about “How to Survive the Death of a Child: A Father’s Story of Healing Light” can visit http://www.kenmatthies.com to preview a chapter of the book. Anyone wishing to speak to Ken Matthies can contact him at 867-821-4004 for further information.

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Yukon Author Ken Matthies new book ‘How to Survive the Death of a Child’ narrates his devastating loss and journey of healing offering help to others

Author Ken Matthies publishes his new book on the timely topic of how to survive and find healing from the death of a child, now available worldwide on Amazon.com as a Kindle books edition.

Carcross, YT (PRWEB) November 7, 2011 – ‘How to Survive the Death of a Child / A Father’s Story of Healing Light’ provides readers with an unusual insight into the experience of personal grieving, and a guide to understanding the steps of the healing process to find their recovery from it. Author Ken Matthies accomplishes this by giving readers a detailed personal account of his own deeply painful and ultimately healing experiences encountered following the sudden death of his daughter, a pilot who perished in the mechanical failure crash of the helicopter she was co-piloting while flying heli-logging operations in central British Columbia, Canada in August of 2002.

Informed at 9:22 p.m. on August 8, 2002 while away on a business trip of his daughter’s sudden death in a helicopter crash earlier that morning, ‘How to Survive the Death of a Child’ is Ken Matthies’ first-hand account. Written with an insider’s deep knowledge of such events rarely described in print, it is a graphically told true story of the emotionally crippling grief experience revolving around the loss of his child. It is also a highly revealing chronicle of the four year journey traveled through that loss describing how he emerged from it whole and healed of its painful effects.

The author’s use of compelling narrative describes deeply shadowed and repressed valleys of denial, anger, depression and confusion encountered along the route of death’s close passage through his life caused by the death of his child. Drawing upon what he describes as “the richly healing light of love and memories seared into his soul with the tenderest of touches from a loving daughter’s heart,” Ken Matthies also tells how he discovered the profoundly healing truths that there is hope, there is consolation, and there is life again after a child’s death.

“This story of a father’s devastating loss and his difficult journey of healing is raw, powerful and eloquent,” stated Anthony Carter, the author’s counsellor at Hospice Yukon Society. “These words have been pulled molten from the furnace of a father’s broken heart, and with hammer and sparks have been fiercely forged into a most beautiful gift for us all – the gift of Hope”.

“This is the story of a father’s love for a child lost and found – and then lost again,” stated Cathy Routledge, Executive Director of Hospice Yukon Society. “It’s the story of his journey into that loss and his decision to come back, finding both his precious child and himself once more in the process – allowing us to witness his healing, and to perhaps heal a little along with him.”