No Fear in Death’s Light

My Hospital Adventure in Tuscany

Joyce and her husband, Gordon, are celebrating their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary with a trip to Tuscany. But as they watch the golden light touch the nearby hills on their second morning, Joyce is gripped by jolts of excruciating pain in her abdomen. She is rushed to the hospital by ambulance and undergoes emergency surgery. During her ordeal, Joyce is comforted by out-of-body experiences that reveal startling truths––among them: that there is no need to fear death.

With a sacred promise to keep, and the help of dedicated medical teams in both Italy and Canada, Joyce embarks on the slow road to recovery. And Joyce and Gordon become more a part of Tuscan life on their holiday than they ever could have imagined.

Joyce Ganong has been writing all of her life, but No Fear in Death's Light is her first book.

Fascinated by stories told by international visitors to her family’s dinner table, she began her own travels at age twenty-one as a volunteer teacher in Tanzania.  Her letters from Africa echoed that ancient thrum of life—her way of sharing her experiences with family and friends, and introducing them to the unfamiliar.

Africa anchored Joyce’s awareness of the importance of nutrition.  Returning to Canada, she earned a Master of Science degree in Human Nutrition.  Again, she wanted to share her knowledge and was at the forefront of nutrition education, developing food and nutrition teaching tools to engage students in the delicious art of eating well.  Her articles on health and wellness appeared in national and local publications, including Canadian Living and B.C. Runner.

Joyce’s passion for building community has been widely recognized; she is recipient of a Rotary Integrity Award and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for her community service, among other accolades.

When she’s not writing, Joyce spends time with her husband, Gordon, her two daughters, and grandchildren, and she continues to volunteer.  She served as Co-Chair of Vital Conversations, now a national initiative of the Community Foundations of Canada. She lives on Bowen Island, B.C.

Advance praise for No Fear in Death’s Light:
 
“By holding a palpable tension between her vivid medical experiences and the mystery of near-death encounters, Joyce has woven a story that enthralls and inspires. Her clarity and courage allow us to glimpse the numinous.”
—Diane Marshall, MA, Registered Clinical Counsellor, co-founder of B.C. Brain (Head) Injury Association, Director of Caring Circle
 
“Joyce Ganong has written an extraordinary book. She vividly recalls and describes exactly what is happening to her and her body, at a level of detail that transports the reader into the situation, while at the same time retaining an ethereal, spiritual perspective that transcends space and time. I enjoyed—no, devoured—this book, in which Joyce has truly reassured her readers that Death is not to be feared, and that Life is meant to be filled with love . . . . That is her legacy and I am changed by having read her story.”
—Carol Mackinnon, MA, Leadership Coach, co-author of Leadership Alchemy: The Magic of the Leader Coach
 
“Joyce paints amazingly vivid word pictures. I can see, feel, taste, and smell each and every experience. It is as if I am there with her through every step of the journey. And what an incredible journey it is. A very sensuous and deeply spiritual trip. This is a very moving and courageous book that is hard to put down.”
—Shirley Robertson, MA, former Regional Director, Government of Canada

 “An intimate and compelling chronicle of life-threatening acute illness interrupting a special anniversary celebration in Tuscany, and the treatment and recovery punctuated by exquisite and liminal cross-cultural adventures, all wrapped in a tender and enduring love story. A rare and bold personal sharing usually reserved only for voicing in the second or third person.”
—Morris Flewwelling, CM, AOE, LLD, FCMA