(Chad Mireau/Facebook)

By Derek Craddock

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

Watrous man visiting Birch Hills to share story of how he’s ‘Surviving the Crash’

Feb 25, 2023 | 10:00 AM

A Saskatchewan author is bringing his story of tragedy and healing to residents of Birch Hills this weekend.

Watrous native Chad Mireau is the author of Surviving the Crash, a memoir detailing the tragic events of losing his sister, her husband and their two kids to a crash that resulted from impaired driving.

That happened in 2016, and that crash has since created the Van de Vorst award, given to police officers who help catch and remove impaired drivers from Saskatchewan roads.

For Mireau, his tales of dealing with grief and loss eventually spurred him to share his story and what he was experiencing emotionally. From there, a positive network and opportunities arose.

“Early on, when I was really struggling and really having a hard time figuring out my way, as I shared how that was going for me, people started connecting to it and people started really following what I was talking about, what I was going through. That led me to believe that I could help some people,” he said.

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“I started having a few people connecting with me and then 100 people and then multiple hundreds of people really following what I was talking about and what I was doing.”

He said those connections have come from a variety of sources including social media, personal development courses and various talks he gives at schools libraries and community gatherings, like the one he is hosting in Birch Hills on Saturday.

“(I) sort of walk people through those initial few hours and what it was like and how it felt and then into being in the hospital and seeing my niece and nephew, what that felt like and what that meant to me,” he said, recalling that dark night.

“I’m hoping (it) will deter other people from being distracted (while) driving, drinking and driving, high and driving.”

His biggest messages during the talk will be on prevention, raising awareness of the dangers of impaired driving and healing and moving on from a devastating life event.

“Really sharing with people that we can have some really tough things happen in our life and still be ok at the end of the day coming out of it.”

He said in the years since he started sharing his story, he has met many who have endured similar situations, some coming to him in tears as they look to move on and heal.

Eventually, he decided to write his book to share his story with even more people who are looking for hope in hard times.

“Understanding that if I could give my story out to the public in a bigger way, maybe I could help more people.”

The event in Birch Hills goes Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the local library with tickets costing $10.

Mireau said he is looking forward to that night and connecting with others and doing his best to reach out.

“All we have is love and supporting other people and being kind to other people because you don’t even know what other people are going through and what events have happened in their lives.”

—

derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @PA_Craddock