Ed Smith is a writer of humour. From the Ashes of My Dreams is the story of his struggle to come to grips with quadriplegia after a motor vehicle accident and describes his adventures and misadventures of seventeen months in rehabilitation centres in Newfoundland and Toronto. The author details his frustrations and triumphs and, from his own experience, offers critical observations on certain aspects of health care. With the help of family and friends, and support from people all across Canada, Ed Smith persevered despite many personal challenges to return to what he loves: family, home, and, of course, writing.
From the Ashes of My Dreams is Ed Smith’s seventh book. His humour column, “The View from Here,” has been running in Newfoundland newspapers for more than eighteen years. He is the winner of the International 2001 Gabriel Award for “writing that uplifts and inspires the human spirit” and the 2001 Canadian Nurses’ Award for “excellence in writing and broadcasting in the field of health care.”

Ed Smith taught in schools all over Newfoundland, finally settling in Springdale, where he and his wife, Marion, had lived. He had been a high school principal, an assistant superintendent of education, and principal of a college campus in Springdale. Ed retired in 1996, just over two years before a car accident left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. He began writing a humour column for the local newspaper in 1980. Other papers soon began running the column, “The View from Here” and it appeared in six papers and magazines. He had been nominated for the Stephen Leacock Award for humour and had written for the Toronto Star and Reader's Digest. In 2001 Ed prepared a series of short radio clips on life with quadriplegia, which he wrote and presented on CBC radio. These earned him The Canadian Nurses' Association award for excellence in broadcasting and an international Gabriel award for writing that upholds and uplifts the human spirit. Ed has been recognized by the Atlantic Community Newspapers Association for hilarious material. Five collections of his columns have also been published. Ed Smith, along his wife, had four children and six grandchildren. Ed Smith passed away on September 8, 2017 in Grand Falls-Windsor, NL.

Ed Smith's profile page