It’s September 1998; the beginning of the school year. Fifteen-year-old Connor Munro is sitting on a bus, earphones on, listening to his favourite band when he’s swarmed by a gang of street kids and his beloved Walkman is stolen. Fast forward and Connor is visiting a homeless teenager named Jesse in hospital. He’s shocked when he sees his Walkman on the bedside table but doesn’t mention it. Curious about this young stranger, he learns that without a bone marrow transplant, Jesse will die of leukemia. As Connor sets about helping his newfound friend, he has no idea he will soon become intimately linked to society’s underbelly in a way he never imagined possible – all because of a dark family secret. In this touching novel, family comes in all shapes and sizes as two strangers help each other find forgiveness, hope, and brotherly love.

Sheena Pennie was born into a family of journalists, authors, and editors. A Sheltered Life is her semi-autobiographical debut novel. She has also written a sequel entitled Banded Together. An avid seamstress, she donates her sewing expertise and time to three charities, making clothing for children in orphanages and refugee camps around the world, ‘cozy caps’ for chemotherapy patients, and a wide range of items for women’s shelters. She also tutors Grade 3 students who need extra help with their reading skills and is a founding member of her local branch of 100 Women Who Care. Retired owner of a public relations agency based in Ottawa, Ontario, Pennie currently lives in Victoria, British Columbia.