J. P. Piché

“You understand me, don’t you? I could no longer make compromises to get back to a so-called normal life. So, I have chosen to follow the path that my heart has recognized. I don’t know what will happen to me because what lies before me is unknown. I just hope I’ll be able to bring…

“But the minds of those who live in the capital or in the plantations become numb and eventually corrupted. Then they quickly become uprooted, forgetting their own traditions, and feeling completely lost. Most of the time they end up drowning their sorrows in alcohol.”—José to Paul, page 66, “Blood for Freedom.” During their trek, José…

“From a more practical perspective, groundwater nourishes the tree, which in turn feeds the clouds, which feed the earth—and the earth feeds us. It’s a cycle that the white man has broken by trying to conquer the Earth. There are ecological consequences of the destruction of the forests.”—José to Paul, page 62, “Blood for Freedom.”…

“As they walked along the bushy trail, José explained that to master the intricacies of their language, Paul first had to understand their culture.” José to Paul, page 60, “Blood for Freedom.” In my book, the main character Paul embarks on a two-year journey to Guatemala to do missionary work in a remote village. After arriving, he…