Acceptance is not Surrender
A little girl, an old man and one man's story of hope
by William S. Sutherland

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This is a story about accepting loss rather than getting beaten by it. It’s about redefining oneself after a crippling disease by living the ups and downs of self-discovery. Far from giving up, acceptance is living a life of disciplined thought and action, searching for newfound strengths to replace those that have been lost. It’s about the strength of the human spirit. It’s about perseverance, not only for the survivor but also for those closest to him. It’s about relationships and what loss does to test their strength and elasticity. It’s finding a way to move forward individually and collectively despite the obstacles. Whether it’s changing roles within the family, completing the paperwork for the body’s most basic function, confronting suicide, or walking “with no hands”, each of these activities, and more, all came with their specific challenges and rewards. The hard to find answers to the questions that started this journey are unique to the writer. They are presented not as a manifesto to follow, but as a starting point for you that you may find something here that can help you find your answers, unique to you.

www.acceptanceisnotsurrender.com

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At mid-life, Bill Sutherland was in his prime – happily married with two wonderful daughters, working for a great company thriving at his job, and an ex-jock who ran to keep fit. One day out for his usual run he mysteriously fell down—over and over again. His life changed forever. Athletic since childhood, he excelled at all sports and attended the University of Minnesota on a baseball scholarship, rare for a Canadian in the late sixties. He remained active right up to his illness running five marathons and countless 10K and 10-mile road races. A diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis, the first of many, stopped all that. He had lost his identity, and with it, his source of strength. His life was crumbling and pushed by guilt and fear, he found himself on the brink of suicide. It was there he started to push back. He went searching for hard to find answers and forged the difficult lessons of acceptance his way. It’s your choice to use his answers as they are, modify them to make them work for you, or keep searching for yours. It matters not what you choose. What matters is that it work for you. This is Bill Sutherland’s first book.

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Contributors

Author

William S. Sutherland

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FriesenPress Editions

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