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| | Publications | | Travelling Light | | The Way and Life of Tony Walsh | | John Buell | | “He wasn’t an activist, he didn’t protest anything, didn’t rally crowds, or create a movement, or seek followers. He worked quietly, alone for the most part, person to person, and directed people to the ‘work’, which meant, after all, the Christian life.”— John Buell, from the Epilogue |  (Softcover; Novalis, 2004; Pp99)
Travelling Light, the fascinating biography of a remarkable man, traces the story of Tony Walsh’s unconventional English childhood, his horrific experiences at the age of 17 in the trenches of World War I, and his subsequent move to Canada. By chance he found himself working as a teacher in Inkameep, a First Nations community in British Columbia, where his gentle and respectful approach to the children and their traditions resulted in a renewal of Aboriginal culture—painting, music, dance and more—and a great deal of interest in these areas in Canada and abroad. At age 56, Walsh decided to leave the West to live a radical life of poverty in Montreal. There he founded Benedict Labre House—a combined soup kitchen, home for homeless men, and centre for Christian dialogue and social justice—which continues to touch countless lives each year. A close friend of Jean Vanier, Tony Walsh was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1990; he died four years later. Despite his wish that he be buried in an unmarked grave, his friends added a stone with a simple epitaph summing up his approach to life: “Tony Walsh: Alone for Others.” | |
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