The mother of a young Alberta man who vanished from Sun Peaks nearly five years ago says she’s been “overwhelmed” by support for her new book, which details the first year after her son went missing.
Heather Shtuka’s book Missing From Me is available now on Amazon, where it is listed as a No. 1 best seller in the grief and bereavement category.
“It hasn’t officially [been released],” Shtuka told Castanet.
“I just posted on Sunday on Ryan’s Facebook page and my personal page, just a sneak peek of the cover. I was going to update everybody when the press release came out, and then before I had a chance to do that everybody figured out you could buy it through Amazon.”
Shtuka said writing the book was a "cathartic" experience. She said it focuses on the 12 months that followed her son going missing. Ryan Shtuka was last seen at a house party in Sun Peaks in February of 2018.
“It encapsulates, really, that one year from Feb. 17, 2018, until Feb. 17, 2019,” she said.
Shtuka said the book gives readers a glimpse into the mundanity of her family’s existence before Ryan vanished and details what it was like finding out her son was missing. The book also takes readers through the search process and the transition “back into home and what that looked like.”
“And I think, for us, we’re still struggling to find out what that is,” she said.
February will mark five years since Ryan Shtuka’s disappearance. Heather said she and her family will be in Sun Peaks for a candlelight vigil on Feb. 17.
