"We live, as we dream - alone…" Sometimes our inner isolation is alleviated; in the aftermath of a cataclysmic event, rescuer and rescued meet, and loneliness is bridged. This book of true stories shows ordinary people in extraordinary events - a ski accident, a missing child, thrilling sea rescues - that take place from snow-bound Labrador to the coast of California. It is about the lives of rescuers who search for life’s meaning while engaging in deeds of heroism and compassion. It is about the aftermath of rescue. There are stories from each Canadian provinces and from the United States. Each is a story of action and inspiration.

Carolyn Matthews was born in the Antipodes but has lived her adult life in Toronto. She is married with grown children. She has published the non-fiction Heroic Rescues at Sea: True Stories of the Canadian Coast Guard (Nimbus, 2002), award-winning short fiction, and feature articles in such newspapers as the Globe and Mail and the National Post.

Carolyn Matthews' profile page

"Matthews is an adequate writer, with a great ability to evoke both character and place. She is sympathetic, but not mawkish, and has the courage of her own convictions about the meanning and purpose of life." -E.E. Cran, NB Telegraph-Journal, July 30, 2005

"Matthews has done us all a favour, not only by writing this book, but by telling us of the existence and work of this valuable and dedicated organization."

NB Telegraph-Journal