On Canada Day, we celebrate more than just maple leaves, Mounties, and moose. We celebrate stories—the gritty, the redemptive, the unapologetically real. And as a Canadian author, born in Ottawa, published by a Canadian press, writing Canadian content set in the heart of our capital, I’d like to offer you one of those stories.
Mine.
I’m not a politician, a historian, or a cultural commentator. I’m a storyteller. And the stories I tell—through the Woody Buchman crime thriller series—are soaked in the grit of Ottawa streets, the backrooms of Bay Street, and the broken corners of Canadian life that don’t always make it into polite conversation. They’re about addiction, money, corruption, trauma, and love. They’re fictional, sure. But they’re born from truth.
Because before I ever typed a word of Woody Buchman – Rogue Currency Trader, I was living it. Not the high finance part—though yes, I was once a trader. I mean the after. The bottom. Addiction. Homelessness. Shame. Rock bottom didn’t feel like a lesson. It felt like the end.
Until The Ottawa Mission picked me up.
Through their Hope Program, I got a second shot—not just at sobriety, but at life. And eventually, at writing. It wasn’t easy. It still isn’t. But this Canada Day, I can say this with my whole chest: I’m clean, I’m working, I’m writing, and I’m giving back.
Now I speak in rehabs, shelters, and support groups in Ottawa. I talk to the folks I used to sit beside in withdrawal rooms. I bring them books. Sometimes mine. Sometimes others. I tell them there’s a road back. Not easy, not short—but possible.
And here’s the part that fills me with the most pride: my books—Woody Buchman: Rogue Currency Trader and Woody Buchman – Glasgow—are as Canadian as they come. They’re set in Ottawa and from Ottawa to Glasgow. They deal with the underbelly of our streets, the weight of our systems, and the resilience of our people. They’re crime thrillers, sure—but they’ve got a heart under the grit.
So this Canada Day, as you fire up the BBQ or sit back with a cold one under the fireworks, I ask you to do one thing:
Support a Canadian story.
From a Canadian author.
Published by a Canadian press.
Rooted in Canadian streets.
And maybe—just maybe—share that story with someone who needs to hear that even from the darkest alley, you can still find your way home.
From Ottawa, with hope.
– Ken Waterman
woodybuchman.com
Want to support Canadian recovery programs? Consider donating to The Ottawa Mission. Every story of healing needs a chapter one.
