Katherine Johnson, Vancouver Island entrepreneur and author, will officially release her new novel Saturday June 4th, with a reading and book signing at Artemis Books.

A memoir gone mad, Trusting Bamboo Bridges explores the untold story of Burmese refugees in the jungles of Thailand. In the novel, Canadian medical technician Kelley Simons is heading home after a grueling stretch in an East African field hospital. But when the laboratory supervisor for a refugee camp on the Thai-Burmese border is injured, she’s the only available replacement. Kelley has never worked in Asia, in a refugee camp, or under such intense security. She trusts that her African experience and dedication are strong enough, that her new colleagues will keep her safe, and that her ex-boyfriend will stay out of trouble.

Johnson takes us to a time and place that challenges our assumptions about the human condition. Thailand is renowned as an idyllic country with friendly, welcoming people. But in 1997, politics, personal bias, and the weather conspire against the refugees and the team of well-intentioned Westerners who are doing their best against overwhelming odds. While an adventure story at heart, the novel also reveals the plight of one of Burma's ethnic minorities, the Karen, whose stories have gone underreported for so long.

The settings and many of the events in Trusting Bamboo Bridges are drawn from Johnson’s own experiences, including eight years as a laboratory supervisor and personnel officer for Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders. Two of which were spent in the camps of Thailand and villages of Burma.

In an attempt to be a responsible adult, Johnson has tried her hand at many occupations, from laboratory technologist to wildlife photographer, and personnel officer to a scuba diving instructor. Her work has taken her to Saudi Arabia, Australia, Sierra Leone, and France, among many other countries. For the past 13 years she and her husband have owned and operated Rendezvous Dive Adventures. She writes from their home in Barkley Sound.

Artemis Books on upper 3rd Ave (next to Steampunk Cafe) will host the book launch event from 1-4 pm on Saturday, June 4th, including a short reading, Q&A session and book signing.

Trusting Bamboo Bridges is available in e-book format from Kobo and Amazon/Kindle, and in print from Artemis Books, 3025 3rd Ave, Port Alberni, or from the author at www.katherinejohnson.ca or www.facebook.com/TrustingBambooBridges