R. Clifton "Cliff" Way's early life did not bode well for his future. Born in the tiny northern Newfoundland fishing community of Flower's Cove, Cliff was seven when he lost his mother to tuberculosis. When he was eleven, his father died from a brain tumor, leaving young Cliff in the care of his grandparents.
Cliff might have spent his life working in the dying Newfoundland cod-fishing industry, but he showed an exceptional flare for academics, completing grade nine in a one-room schoolhouse at age thirteen. His teacher recommended the young man be transferred to the Grenfell School in St. Anthony, where he lived for two years at the Grenfell Mission Orphanage.
The mission's robust embrace of Christianity instilled Cliff with a need to serve others and pushed him to excel in his studies. He went on to graduate from McGill University's medical school and complete his postgraduate work at three different hospitals in Canada and one in Oregon. Ultimately he became a professor of pediatrics and director of the pediatric cardiology service at McMaster University.
A Well-Travelled Way explores the deep role Christianity played in one man's life, molding his academic and personal interests into a life of meaningful service.
About the Author: R. Clifton "Cliff" Way, MD, FRCPC, FACC, was born in Flower's Cove, a small outport in northern Newfoundland. At seven, he lost his mother to tuberculosis. His father died when Cliff was eleven, and the young boy went to live with his grandparents.
He began his education in a one-room schoolhouse but went on to graduate from Bishop's University in 1953. After a year working in a paper mill, he was admitted to McGill University's medical school, graduating in 1958.
Way completed his postgraduate training at hospitals in Quebec, British Columbia, and Oregon. He was a staff member and acting chief of medicine at the Janeway Child Health Center. In 1981 he became the first director of pediatric cardiology at McMaster University, Hamilton, where he practiced and taught until retirement.
Cliff and his wife, Betty, live in Binbrook, Ontario. They have four children and six grandchildren, all of whom live nearby.
