Wilma Derksen launching late husband’s life story

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This article was published 01/12/2022 (1086 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Before he died last May, Cliff Derksen was able to finish his life story. Now his widow, Wilma, has published that story — including about his darkest days after the disappearance and murder of his daughter Candace — in a book that will be launched Sunday.

“Working on the book was a way for me to keep focused,” she said, referring to the time she spent after his death turning his blog postings into book form.

“After the book was done, I caved,” she said. “I’m really starting to grieve now.”

Called Chasing the Light, the self-published book is an “intimate, honest and vulnerable look at his life,” Wilma said.

“He had nothing to lose in writing it. He knew he was dying. It’s a glimpse into his soul, including the dark times in his life, and how he came out of them in a beautiful way.”

The book, which has 100 short chapters, tells the story of a young man who felt rejected by a father who wanted him to be a farmer, and his later struggle to be accepted as an artist. He also struggled to accept himself before finding a sense of peace.

The book also details his feelings about his daughter’s death in 1984, including how he felt when he was suspected of her murder.

Cliff, who was 76 when he died, had started to write his life story before being diagnosed with Stage 4 bladder cancer in February.

When told he had only a few months left to live, he decided to complete his life story as a way to “redeem the time,” Wilma said. “He felt that was what God wanted him to do.”

While he was writing, the couple reminisced about the events in their lives. “Those were wonderful conversations,” she said. “He saw the fingerprints of God all over his life, even in the tough stuff.”

The book’s launch will take place 1-5 p.m. at the Park Theatre (698 Osborne St.). A short program and reading from the book will begin at 1:30 p.m. In addition to the book, which will be sold for $15 at the launch, there will be items for sale from additional artists and authors.

“It will be like a Christmas bazaar,” Wilma said. “We are putting on the kind of party Cliff would have wanted to attend.”

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