Canadian Family

Niko Kiriakos, tentative heir to the ailing Calypso Shipping fleet, always suspected he was cursed. Following his sudden disappearance, his wife, Anna, and daughter, Zoe, are left adrift. Unmoored, they begin to test the boundaries of their lives, struggling with issues of loyalty, identity and what it means to be a family. Spanning years and tracing a route from Niagara Falls to Greece, Escape Plans is an unblinking look at the ties that bind us together and the things that pull us apart.

Growing up with a menacing drunk for a father and a grief-stricken mother, a girl spends her 1980s childhood staring at the television to escape the depression and looming violence that fill her suburban home. After winning a modelling competition, she dedicates herself to becoming a placid image onto which anything can be projected, a blank slate with a blank stare. Earning enough in Paris to retire in her 20s, she buys a studio in Montreal and retreats from the world, cultivating her existence as an image through her virtual reality avatar. But then her mother develops cancer.

L'idée du siècle de mes parents? Avoir un autre enfant! Non mais, comme si on était pas déjà beaucoup trop dans notre famille! Dire que je passerai très certainement en bas du 25 % d'attention parentale. Aussi bien dire presque zéro! Pire idée du monde. Heureusement que j'ai aussi pour me réconforter un brin de cette nouvelle style bombe nucléaire.

Siddhartha était le fils d’un roi puissant qui vivait dans un immense palais aux pieds de l’Himalaya. Son père le tenait jalousement prisonnier, pour le préserver des souffrances du monde. À partir de cette enfance murée dans le silence et traversée de questions et de peurs, se construira une personnalité exemplaire toute entière tendue vers l’accomplissement et le don de soi.

To Stephanie, Andrew Simmons seemed like the perfect man. He was smart, handsome, tall, and athletic. And best of all, he was interested in her. As their romance begins to blossom, the truth about Andrew's past comes to light. A misguided choice made many years before hung over him. When they start a family together, Andrew tries to move on from the past and enjoy his family life, but the past still haunts him.

Donner la vie, devenir parent, cela bouscule une existence. Notre manière de voir la vie, d’envisager l’avenir, d’organiser nos journées évolue au gré de la croissance du petit être aimé qui accapare tant de notre énergie. Pas toujours facile de concilier vie de famille et spiritualité...mais à y voir de plus près, la parentalité est assurément un lieu privilégié pour apprendre à aimer, et donc pour grandir intérieurement.

Audio Journeys are exploring Quebec City, Quebec in early February during their Annual Winter Carnival, the largest winter carnival in the world.