Much-loved Vancouver writer Derek Miller passed away yesterday at the age of 41. He had struggled with cancer for the past few years. I interviewed Derek for a Print Futures assignment a while back and wrote an article about his writing career. In the interview, Derek told me that he didn’t know what the future would hold, but he knew for sure he would still be writing. He was right.

He surely couldn’t predict he would die a few years later, but he did write until the very end. His final blog post is his own obituary – a true writer wouldn’t have it any other way. Indeed, through his blog he has chronicled his own painful journey as his health steadily declined to a point where he couldn’t leave the house – and barely leave his bed. But he still wrote.

I am greatly saddened by Derek’s death. He inspired me to stay on the path to becoming a writer. He has inspired so many with his willingness to help others and with his words. Derek wrote with a sincerity that is rare in a world full of people who are scared of writing the truth. Me included. So here’s to you Derek – your voice is now silent but you will never be forgotten.

 

Here are some new articles of mine that were published in alive magazine. Click on the thumbnails to view them. The first is on whether cell phone towers are safe or not. There is much heated debate surrounding this issue and I got a lot of hate mail for even suggesting we don’t know all there is to know about the technology. The hard truth is that we just don’t have the data spanning a human lifetime to say one way or the other, so lay off haters! My second article is less controversial – should you shave your head when going bald (yes). This was a fun article to write and I got to interview P. Diddy’s barber in Hollywood. Really nice guy. The art guy is an avid surfer so the appearance of Kelly Slater as the bald hunk poster boy is no surprise.