Ward B Buckingham MD

My primary vocation spanned three decades as a primary care internist with specialty emphasis on non-invasive cardiology. The three books published over the past four years reflect the broad theme of personal safety. "Triumph Born of Ashes" is the story of my youngest brother's amazing life during and following his on-duty crash caused by a drunk driver. It is related in the first person which brings the reader into brother Mike's experience of being burned alive, fighting for survival over his seven-month burn center stay, and being a profoundly moving public speaker during his 32 years of permanent disability.From his miraculous survival as the then-worst upper body burn patient to survive famed Harborview's remarkable care came a new personal dedication of life to serving the Lord as He led. His legacy continues through annual awards in his name to fellow Washington State Patrol troopers, my service as Victim Impact Panel speaker twice a month to audiences of DUI offenders, the online domain mikebuckinghamstory.com and associated Facebook page devoted to his life as well as the book I published a year after his 2014 death. Readers will find encouragement and inspiration as they learn of his life. Most recently, the city of Kent dedicated a prominent road sign recognizing his lifetime of public service and effort to save lives through traffic safety education.

Our father was a senior airline captain when he finally achieved lasting sobriety and became a key player in the 1970's transformation of how alcohol dependent pilots were handled by airline management, FAA regulators and pilots' unions. Unfortunately, some pilots continue to deny the reality of their alcoholism, leading to periodic media reporting of airline pilots caught flying impaired. "Hope for Challenged Airline Pilots," published early 2019, is designed to educate and equip readers to urge such pilots-in-denial to enter readily available airline HIMS programs with an unmatched-anywhere 85% success rate of lasting sobriety and return to the cockpit flying. The airline flight crew culture in this country is no longer one of covering-up and enabling alcohol dependent pilots. Who is better equipped to identify pilots in need than the non-alcoholic crew colleagues with them? I'd like to see every airline pilot given a copy of my book to remind them of this problem and equip them to act on behalf of their needy colleagues. The eight-year HIMS operation report, published March 1982 and authored by Masters et al., states: "Self-referral rates seemed to have a direct relationship to the intensity of the local education effort." I submit that my book could be an educational tool. Readers will be shocked to see some of my real-life anecdotes from the past. This book is available in Kindle format as well...priced at half the paperback version.

"Weighing God's Providence" is my most recent book. I contend that all of us experience happenings during life which involve much more than simply luck...good or bad. I'll admit that I qualify as an adrenaline junkie. This personality makeup likely predisposes to more risk than those content with sedate controlled life circumstances and activities. The reader will find numerous examples of my poor judgment and faulty actions, but I hope that others can learn from my confessed mistakes. I want my children and grandchildren to understand me better and benefit from life lessons exposed herein. This too fits in to my current theme of promoting greater safety among others. Although I've embraced championing personal safety in diverse realms, I've not given up adventure seeking activity! Expert mountain bike trail riding, keeping my Hobie Cat right-side up, snow skiing any and all terrain, backpacking the wilderness, snorkeling among God's amazing underwater creation and created...these are just some of what revs me. My wife's common sense helps keep me from being too reckless in my search for adrenaline highs!

All three books are now available either in paperback or Kindle format.