On November 30, 2002, former BC premier Mike Harcourt slipped off the rail-less deck of his Pender Island cottage while carrying two buckets of water to top off the hot tub. Pitched forward by the weight of the full buckets, he tumbled down the rocky slope of a six-metre cliff and landed face down in the ocean, deep in shock and barely alive. The series of events that followed permanently altered Mike Harcourt's life, setting the stage for a remarkable comeback.
Plan B is the inspirational story of Harcourt's fight to recover from this near-fatal accident that doctors initially thought could leave him permanently confined to a wheelchair. His personal story shares the intimate details of his accident, and reveals his relentless optimism in the face of enormous physical and emotional challenges. Today, Mike Harcourt walks without the aid of support, has resumed driving a car, and remains fully engaged in the projects that matter to him. His pragmatic gifts for problem solving and goal setting have much to teach all of us about turning our lives around, even in the most awful circumstances.
Mike Harcourt's story has already touched thousands of people and has motivated many to look for ways of being positive without being superficial, to find choices and the courage to make them instead of feeling stuck, and to transform their nightmare into a dream. Full of hope and inspiration, Plan B shows how anyone can rise above life's serious and unexpected challenges, through one man's powerful personal story.
Harcourt's accident and subsequent rehabilitation and recovery have connected him with disability issues, sustainable cities, and the wonder of his natural surroundings in a profound and deeply personal way. Readers will marvel at how this self-confessed "recovering politician" has reshaped his career to become an international figure in such areas as environmental issues, aboriginal rights, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and the preservation of North America's wilderness.
Michael Harcourt served as British Columbia’s Premier (1991-1996), as Mayor of Vancouver (three terms, 1980-1986), and as Vancouver Alderman (four terms, 1972-1980). Mr. Harcourt is Honorary Chair of the International Centre for Sustainable Cities, Co-Chair of the International Panel of Advisors, and Senior Associate of the Liu Centre for the Studies of Global Issues at the University of British Columbia. He works with the Rick Hansen Man in Motion Foundation on International Collaboration on Repair Discoveries (I-CORD), and chairs the Spinal Cord Injury Quality of Life Advisory Group. He speaks and advises internationally on sustainability solutions.
In May 2003, he was appointed Federal Commissioner on the British Columbia Treaty Commission. In December 2003, he was appointed by Prime Minister Paul Martin to chair an External Advisory Committee on Cities and Communities.
John Lekich is an award-winning freelance journalist and author who has covered everything from pop culture to medicine for over twenty years. Beginning his career as a regular freelancer for The Vancouver Sun and Vancouver Magazine, he spent the eighties as a regional arts correspondent for The Globe and Mail. His young adult novel The Losers’ Club has been shortlisted for a dozen awards, including the Governor General’s Award and the Young Adult Book of the Year by the American Library Association.
