Alastair immigrated to Canada from England by himself when he was 19. He became a typical yuppie – family, house in the suburbs, and a big job in the corporate sector. Following London Life’s Freedom 55 plan – he retired at 57 and went to live in the country.
A year later, disillusioned with the passivity of retirement, he shed his material possessions and went to live for two years with a small First Nations band in a remote fly-in location in the N.W.T .Cultural differences and a challenging environment ignited in him fresh perspectives, inspired a new way of being, and fueled his soul searching. The experience changed the direction of his life which he wrote about in his memoir: Awakening in the Northwest Territories.
He left the north two years later and, motivated about helping others, went to Bangladesh on a two-year assignment as an International Development volunteer. With his new partner, Candas Whitlock, they next went to Jamaica and Guyana as International Development volunteers on one-year assignments and co-wrote: Go For It – Volunteering Adventures on Roads Less Traveled.
In between volunteering assignments, they backpacked Central America and Southeast Asia for four months at a time and co-wrote: Budget Backpacking for Boomers.
In 2016, they went to Alert Bay, B.C. on a four-month volunteer placement with the Namgis First Nations as part of  a Reconciliation Canada project. The experience was so profound they felt compelled to write about it in a memoir entitled: Tides of Change.
Candas and Alastair became entertainers for the next three years presenting their audio/visual shows based on their books to audiences in retirement residences, service clubs, libraries, and community centers throughout Ontario.