Heather Summerhayes Cariou
ON AIR: Friday, January 12 - 10:00 PM
High Speed Connection Recommended (25 MB)

Why call a deadly disease "Sixty Five Roses?" This week, Paula Todd celebrates a life well-lived: A documentary interview with Heather Summerhayes Cariou.

When Pam Summerhayes was just four, she was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. At this tender age, she couldn't wrap her enunciation around the illness that eventually killed her at 26.

The disease defined her philosophy. Pam was afraid of an unused life. Consequently, she infused her family with a sense of urgency. Her parents created the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Her sister, Heather Cariou, wrote a tribute to Pam: Sixtyfive Roses: A Sister's Memoir.

The book took 23 years to complete. Cariou attended seminars at the International Women Writers Guild for decades. She says the support of the guild and her husband, acclaimed actor, Len Cariou, spurred her to complete the book.

Sixtyfive Roses, the book, like a young child's whimsical mispronunciation, is a spirited tribute to a family's way of coping. Heather Cariou, explores the sacrifices each family member made to ensure Pam led a full life.

Rather than lament the loss of life, Cariou explores how deeply we can love and how sacrifices lead to a fulfilled life.

This show repeats on:
January 13 at 06:30 PM
January 15 at 04:00 AM