Transferred between foster homes for most of his life, twelve year old Corey Brinkman has developed a bad habit of running away. His new foster parents, Wilma and Ben Howard, are determined to make their home his for life, but old habits are hard to break.

Wilma takes Corey to the Calgary Zoo for his annual visit with his birth mother, despite her discomfort about Tina Brinkman and the fever Corey is pretending not to have. When Corey goes missing at the zoo, his two mothers are forced into an uneasy truce in the search for their son.

Running Toward Home reveals the complex relationships surrounding a foster child, and the fine line between protection and standing in the way of life lessons. For twenty-four hours the Calgary Zoo becomes the entire world, and the lines between the nurturing instincts in animals and humans become blurred.

Betty Jane Hegerat grew up in New Sarepta and Camrose, Alberta, finishing high school in Edmonton. She currently lives in Calgary. Hegerat earned a BA from the University of Alberta, and a MA of Social Work from the University of Calgary. In addition to being a social worker and a mother of three, she also teaches courses at the Alexandra Writers’ Centre in Calgary. Hegerat’s work was featured in several literary publications, such as in the NeWest Review, the Toronto Star, and Alberta Views, and has won numerous prestigious writing competitions. Recently admitted to the University of British Columbia’s MFA in Creative Writing Program, Hegerat will begin this program in July 2006.

Betty Hegerat's profile page