Book excerpt: Michael Gray's memoir begins "When I was two years old I drowned" in the frigid waters of Lake Ontario. It goes on to reflect upon the life he has lived and the opportunities he has been given since that fateful day. Time soon emerges as a character in his story. A few milestones along the way have been his attendance at a transformative six-month retreat at the Nyingma Institute in Berkeley and when, at the age of 48, he added "Husband & Father" to his resume. Eventually his journey led him to Albuquerque, New Mexico where in the early 90's, together with a friend who has ALS, he co-founded "Friends in Time," a non-profit that serves people with the neuromuscular diseases of MS & ALS. Michael has published short stories, poetry, and articles in the Antigonish and Wascana Reviews, in Gesar magazine, and in the "Time, Space, Knowledge" Perspectives volume, A New Way of Being.