Finding Heartstone

With tenderness and affection, Finding Heartstone captures the psychological, physical, and emotional impact of wilderness living and family tragedy. When Cathy Sosnowsky, her husband Woldy, and their little boy Alex first joined the Hemming Bay Community, a cooperative formed to preserve a large piece of wilderness on a remote coastal island of British Columbia, she found the idea of owning part of an island appealing. But the paradise she envisioned reveals itself as a harsh and hostile environment -- the water too cold to swim, the beaches rocky and jagged. After increasing her family with the adoption of two children, and the building of a communal lodge, Cathy began to recognize the joys a wild environment offers. But when their lives take a tragic turn with the loss of their son Alex to a fatal accident and his siblings to addiction, the couple begins to drift apart. Determined to find a way through the anguish and alienation, Woldy finds his recipe for healing by building Heartstone Lodge with his brother Vic, while Cathy pursues a healing journey through her writing. Ironically, the writing becomes her link to Heartstone Lodge, drawing her back to the support of the community and the wilderness she shared with her children. Through anecdotes of living in nature and the stories of the people and animals of Hemming Bay, a different type of family emerges and Cathy reflects on the imposing presence of those who have departed, some by way of death. After their son Michael returns from eight years in a Chinese jail with a longing for Hemming Bay fish and chips, their family begins to rebuild, re-establishing their tradition of sharing meals as a reminder of summer days spent in the wild. With quiet strength and conviction, Cathy confronts her emotions and reflects on the healing power of nature in this tender memoir.