Available Now!
Grounded by Granite A Memoir
How does a shy, curly-haired little girl grow up to be a strong, independent woman who treks and volunteers on her own in the remote Nepal Himalaya at the age of 67?
Find out how in Grounded by Granite, a coming of age tale of family connection and resilience framed by summers on a remote island in the Canadian Shield.
Available from Amazon
Here’s what they’re saying about GROUNDED BY GRANITE.
Shales Lefkos’s book delves into her memories from childhood and paints a vivid picture of a simpler time in our past. Her writings are in deep contrast with our fast-paced world, where the family cottage is equipped with WiFi and escape from the modern world is nearly impossible.
[Read more…]
Ottawa Life Magazine
The sense of place and family is spot on. She brings cottage life in the ‘50s to life and deftly handles generational change in the 2020s with compassion and humour.
Roy MacGregor– Author of The Great Escape
What a pleasure to share in off the grid cottage life adventures and the strength of family in a time that now feels just out of reach. The title says it all: a family as grounded and resilient as the Canadian Shield itself.
Bob Henderson – Author of Every Trail Has a story, Outdoor Educator
Grounded by Granite is a testament to the power of place to instil lasting connections to self, to others, and to nature. Through her stories and reflections, Patti reminds us what is truly important at a time when we are increasingly disconnected from ourselves, from others and from nature. I loved this book.
Sarah Wiley –Strategic Projects Manager, Outward Bound International
In her deeply felt and evocative memoir, Patti weaves together stories from the past and present, in ways suggestive of the associative quality of memory itself, and how we synthesize and integrate experience.
Sophie Forrester- MSW, RSW, Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist
A Himalayan Adventure Travel Memoir with a Humanitarian Twist
NEPAL ONE DAY AT A TIME
In her book Nepal One Day at a Time Patti Shales Lefkos tells the story of a senior woman whose life has come to an impasse. In an effort to establish independence within her marriage and face fears of aging brought on by the tragedies of loved ones, she sets off for the first time on her own. Accompanied by a young guide and porter she volunteers at a remote village school before beginning a month-long high altitude Himalayan trek. Framing the two adventures are physical and emotional challenges, her lessons in Nepali culture and her quest to gain a deeper understanding of the people she encounters. And, how along the way she discovers a higher purpose: building a school to give back to the country she has learned to love.
Endorsement
Both an inspirational travel memoir and a story of personal re-awakening, Nepal One Day At A Time speaks to all of us who at mid life are seeking to make a difference by seeking “the alternate path.”
– Sarah Wiley, CEO Outward Bound Canada.
Review
Patti Shales Lefkos’s Nepal One Day at a Time is a marvelous recounting of the author’s experiences in Hong Kong on a sea kayaking expedition before heading on to Kathmandu. Her dismay at the chaos of those early days teaching at the Bhairabi Primary School comes out loudly and clearly, and her frankness about how all her years of teaching hadn’t really prepared her for their needs is refreshing.
Click here to read the full review
Available for purchase from:
AmazonUS | AmazonCA | AmazonUK | AmazonAU
Distributed by Red Tuque Books.
Nepal One Day At A Time and Grounded by Granite are popular with bookclubs! Patti offers free Zoom presentations to bookclubs, women’s groups, outdoor groups, colleges with outdoor and teacher training programs, armchair travellers and trekkers. To book some time with Patti, just use the contact form.
Available in bookstores soon.
Profits from the sale of the book go to supporting education in Gorkha.
Patti would love to visit your Book Club to make a free Zoom Powerpoint presentation to discuss her books and answer any questions readers might have. Reach out on the contact page.
Watch Patti’s interview on Authors Online
Watch Patti’s interview on Taking the Helm with Lynn McLaughlin
Listen to Patti as a guest on Travel Writing World
Honoured to be a guest on TRAVEL WRITING WORLD with Jeremy Bassetti. Join us for a chat about volunteering, trekking and the joys and challenges of self-publishing.