Kelly Ricketts

About Kelly Ricketts

My first book titled “One Inch From Disaster” Published in 2022, is a collection of stories inspired by real events that have happened in my life, and a second edition of my continuing memoirs is currently nearing completion. The stories evolved out of the ones I shared with my children over the years. They are a more complete and detailed version of those same stories and more, in what was a long-standing story telling custom we called The Club. From the time they were very young, I would regularly gather all the kids together onto our large master bed and turn off the lights, at which point the bed was transformed into a hot air balloon, a Pirate ship or whatever we could imagine. As we embarked on our journey into the unknown. Invariably, at the conclusion of our adventure the children would insist I tell them a story from my life.
They looked forward to The Club so much that they were still coming in to take part when they were in their early teens. Now, with the kids gone on to their own life pursuits, I wanted to write about my experiences, both the good and not so good, in hopes they might more fully understand where I came from and what shaped me into who I became and who I am becoming even today. Many of the stories in this book were never told to the children in full – they were, at least in my opinion, too young to hear some of the more graphic details. In fact, even some adults may find them difficult to read. But the truth needs to be told, unsullied and in its rawest form, to be able to convey the feelings I had: the anger, the humour and even the sorrow.
Like many rural British Columbians, I have tried my hand at an astonishing array of occupations, from logging, boxing and fitness coaching to performing and recording hit country music. Having been inducted into the British Columbia Amateur Boxing Hall of Fame in 2021, I was both proud and humbled to share this honor with such great boxers. I have also been blessed with and am equally proud of my Metis and Cree heritage.
With a passion for the outdoors and storytelling you will find, in these pages, stories about happy days, near tragedy, rage, pain and some truly unbelievable experiences.