Acknowledgements

I am very grateful that this offering came to life on Treaty 6 Territory, traditional homeland of the Cree, Dene, Lakota, Nakota, Dakota, Salteaux and Métis people. On this land, I have been blessed to live and to continually learn from many treasured health care students, colleagues, and consumers. May this book contribute to much needed truth-telling, reconciliation, decolonization, and healing within health care and all the places that we share.  

I also wish to gratefully acknowledge the funding provided by the Government of Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Advanced Education in support of teaching release time to work on this publication. I am also deeply grateful to the Saskatchewan Polytechnic library team who administered the funding and supported me in a multitude of ways with this project and many others throughout my career.  I especially want to thank librarian Donna Cook-Thiessen, whose Open Education Resource (OER) and copyright expertise has been pivotal in the completion of this book, as has her flexibility and support.  I also want to thank members of the leadership team at Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Saskatoon Campus of the Saskatchewan Collaborative Bachelor of Science in Nursing (SCBScN) program: Chris Barlow, Robyn Kobussen, Jennifer Dupuis, and Dana Bouskill. I will always remember your support for my involvement in writing this handbook and sharing my passion for holistic care. Special thanks to gifted graphic artist Alexis Watt for her work on the WHOLE Care image.

Deepest gratitude to Dr. Mary Jo Kreitzer, a revered international trailblazer in Integrative Nursing, whose leadership and scholarship have long inspired so many of us in health care, and whose foreword graces this handbook.

To my husband, Barry, worlds of thanks for your unwavering support and keeping me fed, watered, and encouraged during the final stretch of this book’s completion. You are the best.

*****

This book is dedicated to my precious granddaughter who brings me such joy

and deepens my resolve to help our world be healthy for future generations. 

Be happy and whole, Brielle.