[.ca] Walking Towards Hope (ISBN 1894860241)

The Place Called "I Don't Know":
Paul Beckingham in his book "Walking Towards Hope", describes a place called "I Don't Know". He describes this as a a place which has no respect for our schedules and our plans. As we begin each day, we really and truly don't know what will happen. In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps (Proverbs 16:9). We may have a plan for the day, but only the Lord knows what will happen as we journey through it. It's good to spend time with the Lord in the place called "I Don't Know". Although the place called "I Don't Know" is filled with chaos, with a lack of scheduling, with uncertainty it is a place where we sometimes need to journey to. It is so easy to lose perspective on where God is leading and what His plans are for our lives. At times like this God calls out to us. It may be like a roaring wind, it may be like a whisper. In my case it has at times been like a two by four to the side of my head. He has taken me to a place that I now know as the place called "I Don't Know." It has been a place that has at times been filled with fear. But at other times it has been a place of solitude, of reflection. It has been a place where I have had to relinquish all control to God. It has become the place where God has shown me the new place ... "A Hope and a Future". Thank you Paul for the gift of your book.

Hope in the midst of tragedy:
To look at Paul Beckingham, to listen to him speak, to experience his laughter, wisdom, and effervescent character, you would never know that this man of God has survived a near death accident. But when you read this compelling, deeply impacting book, you encounter this man's tragic and triumphant story. Paul Beckingham is a Pastor, a Professor, a gifted writer and thinker. A master story teller, Paul takes you into his confidence, walks you down the very African road where his life almost ended, guides you through the corridors of the Kenyan hospital where he and his family were treated, and leads you to the place where he has arrived today, still healing, still recovering, still encountering God in the miracles of life's tragedies. This is no bitter tale, no whimpering in these pages, no complaining that life isn't fair, or that God isn't fair. Paul lays bear his inner feelings, his battle with pain, depression, and a constant struggle with TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury), the latter of which he has become a spokesperson for those suffering with this type of injury and the families who now live with a very different person than they once knew. He is an advocate for training and rehabilitation. So, how does one begin to review the contents of another's life story, and try to do justice to it? Listen to Paul: "Crushed and broken is a home that is real--but one that is only a temporary dwelling place. It is a brief stopping point along a larger journey. It is a place of brokenness, lies, and robbery. If you choose to stay there for too long or visit it too often you taste its dangers, for it is a hall of mirrors. At best, it reflects only distorted images of who you are. You see just the losses, the disfiguring changes, caused by your sudden loss. And you grieve and mourn the person you once were, the one you have lost. You are a wounded spirit and you are in pain." This limited account is not where Paul wanted to stay, and he chose not to. The story of this captivating book describes how he has overcome/is overcoming, and the gift he desires to give to others who face similar circumstances. "From the hard lessons I was learning through my own recovery, I would be able to share something of the gift I had received--the assurance of a renewed hope and a future. Hope was a gift I could not tap dance into existence through my own clever footwork. I could not stage-manage it into being through a positive mental attitude, by applying some clever time management techniques, or by employing the latest pop-psychology fad. This gift was mine, but only as I freely received it day by day from One greater than myself. That is all I could do, receive it freely. It spoke of grace." Paul has decided to give this gift away to others in similar need. When Paul is asked what his long-term plans are, his reply after much thought, will be, "I don't know." But there is more to the answer than just that...you'll have to read the book all the way to the end to find the answer. Any you will savour every page of it. I know I did. This is a man of deep faith, of daily communion with the Father, of learning to live attentively in the moment, and letting God control the rest. Thanks Paul, you call us out of tragedy into the light of hope in Christ.

Fellow Brain-injured Writer's Review:
alanjohn.cooper@utoronto.ca 104 Helendale Avenue Toronto, ON M4R 1C7 July 24, 2006 Beckingham, Paul M. Walking Towards Hope Castle Quay Books, Kitchener, Ontario. 2005. ??Reviewed by Alan J Cooper Paul Beckingham?s story is a refreshing alternative to the number of books already out there about the challenges encountered and hope needed after a traumatic brain injury. Yes, the author is a Baptist minister but he also has the sensitivity not to overload his story with any sense of parochialism. His hope is always sincere and at times, the only element that keeps him going. To that end alone, his story is universal. To be fair, Paul Beckingham did have a supportive family and insightful professional help, at least help of that kind once back in Canada after being crushed by a wild truck in Kenya. Nonetheless, it is in the spirit of the author himself where he finds the grace from which to build and the wherewithal to attack the multiplicity of new problems that he would now have to face with a changed personality and post-injury learning impairment. As a reader of this story and writer who has himself incurred a severe brain injury, I can attest to the author?s ability to speak for the millions of brain-injured people everywhere, when describing brain injuries: ?They do not happen neatly at arm?s length; they are ugly and embarrassingly messy. They invade our private and personal space, violating our self-understanding.? The author also echoes the feelings of many a brain-injured person when he or she first arrives at any rehab: ?We have little concern for what we have or for what we can do. Instead, we are focused on all that we have lost, all that we cannot do any longer??and maybe will never manage to do again. We are traumatized by a profound sense of personal diminution, and private violation.? Walking Towards Hope not only moves the world forward in its understanding of the complex area of brain injuries but also underscores how a spiritual rooting, regardless of one?s religiosity or humanism, can sometimes make the difference between a new-but-changed life and a non-life of despair. This book should be a must read for all brain-injured people, their loved ones and related professionals. Alan J Cooper has written a book BRAIN INJURY to be published in September, 2006 by White Knight Books of Toronto. He holds five degrees from the University of Toronto, including two Masters, the first examining how values affect human behavior, the second a Master of Education, focusing on the need for learner autonomy and a teacher?s role as catalyst. Cooper has completed an outline for a second book, a fiction novel unveiling the damage being done to North American society by perversions of religion.

A guidebook for dark times:
Life has a way of hitting us with the unexpected and what hit Paul Beckingham was a Kenyan military tranport. Result: clincal death three times on the operating table, fifteen broken bones, two skull fractures, and a foot needing to be reattached. Most important of all was the serious brain injury that devastated his short term memory, concentration, and ability to focus. These are drastic limitations; from being a high achever, the accident made him a different and in many ways, a lesser man. How would he and his family cope? Was there any future or hope for him? Written out of deep Christian faith and unmarred by cliches, the book almost brings us inside Paul's experiences as he walks the hard way back to a semblance of physical health and mental functioning. He tells how he and his family came to terms with his new limitations, and how they recovered hope. This book will be a godsend for anyone who suffers serious physical or mental injuries, but it also has plenty to teach folk who escape such events. For as we get older, many of us will find our own skills decaying, or brain function problems developing in a loved one. Paul Beckingham, in telling his story, has provided us with a helpful roadmap for a journey that many of us will share.