A Stone's Throw: The Enduring Nature of Myth

by Ross A. Laird

A new book by the author of The Grain of Truth , nominated for a Governor General ’ s Award

A Stone’s Throw begins as Ross Laird hikes up a remote B.C. mountain with his father. He’s in search of a volcanic rock he intends to sculpt in his workshop, and he finds it in an icy river. Packing it home, and then learning how to work the stone, he runs up against challenges that enlighten his hands, his heart, and even his relation to humankind.

Stones have always been viewed as foundations of community, symbols of self, and embodiments of sacred wisdom. While painstakingly sculpting his stone over the course of a year, Laird examines the persistence of this powerful symbolism.

A Stone’s Throw is about the weaving together of the stories by which we construct our lives, individually and collectively. As Ross Laird crafts a volcanic rock into a piece of sculpture, he peels back the façade of the present to reveal the contemporary world as a place where the past is forever working out its unfinished dreams.

352 pages, Hardcover

First published August 19, 2003

About the author

Ross Laird is an author and consultant to organizations on themes of personal development, professional mentorship, and whole-person learning. He works with a diverse range of clients across North America, from social service providers to educational institutions to corporations. He has worked extensively in the fields of addiction, interpersonal conflict, trauma, creativity, and healing. He has also taught at over a dozen post-secondary institutions and was the founder and lead developer of the Interdisciplinary Expressive Arts program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

Dr. Laird holds a Ph.D. degree in Interdisciplinary Creative Process from The Union Institute and is a recipient of Union's Sussman Award for Academic Excellence. He also holds a Master's degree in Counselling Psychology from Antioch University and is a recipient of the Communications Award from the BC Association of Clinical Counsellors. As an author, he has been a finalist for Canada's Governor General's Award and the BC Book Prize. As an educator, he is a recipient of the Dean's of Arts Award for Teaching Excellence at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Dr. Laird is also a noted craftsman in wood and stone, and a persistent advocate for purposeful and personal learning.