Andrew Kooman's Blog, page 9

Connect to the human story on #WorldRefugeeDay

As you may know, June 20 is World Refugee Day. And you might be asking yourself: What do I even do?

It's easy to have compassion fatigue.  You might want to care, but don't even know what to believe, what stories to listen to or where to start.

Over the last few years, I've worked with YWAM Penang to shed light on the migrant and refugee crisis in Southeast Asia and one of the books we produced is Hope in Action.

Today, to mark World Refugee Day, I'm offering the book as a free download on my...

Ten Silver Coins: The Drylings of Acchora available on Amazon

I'm excited to share that the first book in my young adult novel series Ten Silver Coins: The Drylings of Acchora is now on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca with a whole new look.

 

New look for She Has A Name paperback - available on Amazon

What do you think?

I’m in love with it!  I’m excited to share the new cover of .  The paperback edition of my critically acclaimed play is available exclusively on (and ) as well as for Kindle.

It’s a great read for the justice-lover in your family who wants to see something done to end human trafficking.

Not used to reading stage plays in print?  Now’s the time to start!  I remember one of the first published plays I read (outside of high school) was William Gib...

Wait, you're gonna thrill me and give me a killer deal?

Yes, friend, yes.

I'm sorta super pumped (a technical term) to announce the rebrand, reprint and relaunch (the real 3 Rs they should teach in primary school) of the beloved first book in my Ten Silver Coins series.

Ten Silver Coins: The Drylings of Acchora has a whole new look. The book follows the adventures of Jill Strong into a world where imagination is a key to survival.

Here it is. Ta-dah!

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It's the same great story with a few updates.

As an independent author, it means the world to m...

What's slapped on your bulletin board?

I’m sitting in a Starbucks. Set up at one of those long tables people congregate at to work while sipping coffee. The busy hum of background noises fine-tuning concentration. 

Coffee grinding. A woman at a nearby table asking a friend about her upcoming knee surgery. Drink titles rattled off by baristas with their pump and foam ratios so detailed and personal, some are surely meant to set the world record for Coffee Order Specificity.

And as I start to scratch down words on the page, think a...

Celebrating fatherhood, freedom, and paying it forward

A while ago, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of newly landed immigrants to Canada to talk about the importance of peace and the importance of freedom as they adapted to a new life in a new country.

I shared the story of how my father’s side of the family arrived in Canada from Holland. By boat. After surviving the dark and horrible days of occupation during the Second World War. When it seemed like the war might never end, when it seemed impossible to go one more day without food...

The Body and the Blood - Easter Poem, 2017

As I sat in church on Palm Sunday last week, reeling from the devastating news across the world, the reality of Easter- its horror, it’s hope–was uncomfortably and devastatingly real.  Terrorists set off bombs in worship services in Tanta and Alexandria in Egypt, leaving more than 44 dead and more than 100 injured.

The possibility that such terror and destruction could be unleashed in a service meant to be filled with joy and anticipation among people of peace is the cruelest evil.

My Easter...

Seeing transformation in Thailand and around the world through She Has A Name

THE YOUNGEST GIRL WAS TRAFFICKED FOR LABOUR AND THEN SOLD TO A BAR WHERE SHE WAS FOUND. SHE HAD NEVER ATTENDED SCHOOL BEFORE. THE NOW 15-YEAR-OLD GRADE 10 STUDENT HOPES TO BECOME AN ENGINEER.

For me, this is what’s it’s all about, seeing stories of despair being transformed into stories of hope.  It’s been a great privilege of my life to get to know and now partner with the incredible people at Home of New Beginnings in Thailand and A Better World Canada, based in Central Alberta.

When I w...

Put this provocative Q in your pipe and smoke it

As I write from the comfort and shelter of my home in Canada, where I have food in the fridge, coffee always brewing, and electricity to charge all my devices, it can be easy to push out of mind the immediacy of a world in crisis.

We only have so much headspace for the trouble in the world, right?  And it’s easier to binge on Netflix and escape reality than to look it in the face.

Even if we care, what does it matter?  Those problems are so far away. 

Finding a way into these pressing global...

My friend died but her valiant faith and kindness still lives

When we went to the hawker stall for a bowl of beef noodle soup, I didn’t know it would be the last time I saw my friend Kai Lee.  She giggled as I ordered the same bowl as her, complete with the tenderly braised sirloin, the starchy sauce and just enough cartilage and “wobbly bits” to bring me to the edge of my culinary limits.

Was the cancer, this cruel disease, present there with us as we continued our day-long meeting over lunch, discussing her casework with Nepali migrants navigati...