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There's a Universe in My Yard!

by Stephen Christensen MD

20 pages; Saddle stitched; contains colour photographs; catalogue #06-2395; ISBN 1-4251-0637-4; US$9.15, C$10.52, EUR7.52, £5.26

You could visit worlds beyond imagining right outside your door… if only you weren't glued to your TV!

About the Book

I was compelled to share this book for two reasons: First, during two decades of medical practice, I watched my patients change in alarming ways. Previously lithe, active, alert individuals became sedentary, overweight, lethargic creatures who lacked the energy to even save themselves from danger should the need arise… and those were just the kids!

Then, when my vision suddenly began to fail five years ago —effectively ending my career— I learned on a very personal level that many things we take for granted are not really promised to us; tomorrow is not necessarily a sure thing.

To take a moment to get down on our bellies and really look around, to discover the vibrant richness of life outside of our electronic appliances is probably the greatest gift we can bestow upon ourselves and our children. And if we want our offspring to avoid the curse of being the first generation since the Industrial Revolution to expect a shorter life than their parents had, we must incite their curiosity and get them to moving!! Any impetus that dislodges them, even temporarily, from their computer games or from television's nonsense can only be a good thing.

About the Author

Stephen Christensen, MD, was letting his imagination run free in his own backyard long before he was subjected to the numbing influences of public education and medical training.

A residency trained and board certified Family Physician, he practiced rural medicine until his career ended in 2002. As for the hours he spends behind a camera's lens, he says, "Photography has always been a respectable hobby, but I never wanted to ruin the fun by trying to make a profession of it. Now that the edges of my universe are fuzzy, it's a good thing I didn't take pictures for a living. Besides, there have always been lots of folks out there who are better at it than I ever was —though I was a pretty good doc."

He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his watchful companion, Tonya.

Excerpts