William Sinclair has led quite a life, and people have told him he has quite a story to tell.
So he’s going to share it.
Born in Scotland, Sinclair came to Canada when he was 21. He’s open and transparent about his past – how he overcame anger and abuse, went through counselling and now leads a loving and fulfilling life. He has battled cancer on several occasions but has maintained a positive outlook.
He’s been a musician, a writer, a lay minister in the Catholic church, a motivational speaker and a podcaster, among other things.
Diagnosed with terminal cancer, he has decided to share the story of his many unique experiences, not just for the many people who have known him over the years, but for those who were never able to meet him.
Sinclair and his wife Edrina were long-time residents of Estevan who moved out of the community in 2012. Eventually they settled in the Carlyle area and worked at the Kenosee Lake Bible Camp. They recently relocated back to Estevan to be closer to their family.
He said people have been asking him to write a book for a while.
“The prospect of writing a book, even with me being a writer, seemed to be very daunting. I knew I had my life I could write about and that’s quite a story in itself to tell, but I didn’t feel I had all the answers people were asking me about,” he told Lifestyles in an email.
He has had works published before, including a collection of the Dirty Socks and Banana Bread columns that he and his wife wrote for Lifestyles from 2011-2015.
A few weeks ago, he went onto Facebook and told people that he wanted to write a book, but he wasn’t sure what the subject would be. With more than 1,700 Facebook friends, he received a lot of responses, with many telling him he should share his story.
“I wanted to make sure if I went through all the energy and cost to write a book it would be a book that hopefully got read,” he said. “Knowing ahead what people actually wanted and then delivering on that would help achieve that goal. I’m so grateful to everyone for the suggestions and encouragement I receive to begin this project.”
When he coaches beginning writers, he tells them to just write. Thus, he decided to write his life story and anything else that falls out of his brain.
Sinclair noted the famed horror fiction writer Stephen King took that approach. Whatever surfaces will fill the page.
“So, why should I be any different?” he said.
The diagnosis of terminal cancer has served as a motivator to get this book finished.
He says people have asked him how he became so positive when he used to be so angry, or when he went through abuse, how did he come out so peaceful.
“My biggest thing was I didn’t know where to start, what to include, what direction the book should go,” he said. “Should it be a teaching book or just sharing my life story? And who would be interested in reading it anyway, on a commercial viability level?”
The book is in its initial stages. He started writing it by hand, with a pen and paper, just like best-selling author James Patterson. But, with the terminal cancer diagnosis, he found it took too much time for him to then type those notes into a computer.
“While it has its benefits, time isn’t one of them. So, it’s back to computer typing for the first draft.”
As someone who used to have a podcast, he’s also considering an audio recording the first draft, then paying to have it transcribed into the computer. Audio recording that first draft could mean having it completed in a weekend.
All the inspirational teachings he will share to go along with his story, he has learned along the way. They are so ingrained into his life’s journey they are part of him.
“One thing I’ve learned in my life – if the book is meant to be completed and published then regardless of my health and how it’s slowing me down, the book will get written and published,” he said.
