Alastair emigrated to Canada from England by himself when he was 19. He became a typical yuppie - family, a house in the suburbs, and a big job in the corporate sector. Following London Life's Freedom 55 plan he retired at 57 and went to live in the country.
Two years later, disillusioned with the passivity of retirement, he shed his material possessions and went to live for two years with a small First Nations band in a remote fly-in location in the N.W.T. Cultural differences and a challenging environment ignited in him fresh perspectives, inspired a new way of being, and fueled his soul searching. The experience changed the direction of his life which he wrote about in his memoir: Awakening in the Northwest Territories. He left the north two years later and motivated about helping others less fortunate than himself went to Bangladesh on a two-year assignment as an International Development volunteer.
On his return To Canada, Alastair met his new partner, Candas Whitlock, who subsequently sold her house, shed her material possessions, and went with him to Jamaica and Guyana as International Development volunteers on one year assignments. They co-wrote Go For It - Volunteering Adventures on Roads Less Travelled to encourage boomers to consider international volunteering.
In between volunteering assignments, they backpacked Central America and Southeast Asia for four months at a time and co-wrote Budget Backpacking for Boomers.
In 2016, Candas and Alastair went to Alert Bay, BC. on a four-month volunteer placement with the Namgis First Nations as part of a Truth and Reconciliation Committee 'Call to action' initiative, where Alastair served as the business coach to ten First Nation would-be entrepreneurs. The experience was so profound they felt compelled to write about it in a memoir entitled Tides of Change, which is a free download from Alastair's website: www.alastairhenry.com
For the next three years, Candas and Alastair entertained audiences in retirement residences, service clubs, and libraries throughout Ontario with their audio/visual shows based on their books.
Alastair has three children and seven grandchildren and lives in London, Ontario with Candas.
His double lung transplant in 2020 enabled him to complete writing The Soldier and the Orphan which he began in 2016.
