Dan Sterling and his story will open your heart in untold ways. A warm, vulnerable, caring man, Dan grew up in a very conservative family in Alberta, Canada where discipline and life were harsh.

Two months before Dan came to the Process, he knew he “had a big problem.” In his job as a Canadian police officer, Dan was investigating a case that caused him stress. He realized he was having a breakdown – a silent, stoic one. He came to realize he couldn’t cry in spite of feeling great distress.

At the start of the Process, Dan says he, “…almost felt like a pit-bull rescue.”

Note: Dan speaks about the suicide of his friend and the attempted suicide of others. Please call the US National Suicide Prevention Program at 800-273-8255 if you need someone to speak with.

Dan’s family was directly affected by the 1980s National Energy Program when the Canadian Government (Liberal) nationalized energy resources, causing great harm to the Alberta economy. His father’s service station was not able to stay open. His family was plunged into poverty in a region with few opportunities. Kids picked on Dan in school because they were visibly poor. As a result, he learned to cope by fighting and hanging out with other poor kids.

Often reminded by his parents that Liberals did this to his family, Dan grew up with disdain for anyone who looked well off because they had a secure public sector job. By the time Dan finished high school, his parents had healed and clawed their way back to some semblance of prosperity. But Dan remained bitter, blaming his parents, treating them poorly, and talking down to them. One day, Dan’s father offered him an “olive branch with dollars on it,” meaning that the gift was valuable beyond words. Dan couldn’t accept it; but, after the Process, he found “massive forgiveness.”

While at university, Dan joined the army reserve. After completing his degree and while waiting to become a police officer, he went into the army full-time. Dan left the military in 2006 and in 2007, started his career as a police officer in the north. After twelve years of busy police work as a frontline investigator, he now serves as a plainclothes investigator, starting three months after attending the Process in August 2019.

Canadian Government 1980s National Energy Program

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If you or anyone you know is dealing with issues of suicide,