Publications

Dancing With Dynamite: Celebrating Against the Odds

Tim Huff’s newest book, Dancing With Dynamite, Celebrating Against the Odds, with a foreword written by Jean Vanier, is a soulful journey into a variety of worlds that most people would describe as painful, awkward, peculiar and sometimes even ugly; the very places where celebration happens least, but matters most. Dancing With Dynamite explores the unlikely triumph of the human condition when it’s realized for its splendour, rather than its frailties. Ultimately, it is a book about the godly art of acceptance, the miraculous impact of kindness, and the joy of truly belonging.

“This book is like a window that allows us to see straight into the heart and perfection of the human spirit. Despite oppressive and often chaotic conditions, somehow the people in these brief stories shine through with hope, to remind us all of our infinite capacity for unconditional love.”
-Don Morrison, chief operating officer of Research in Motion, and co-founder of the Golden Thread Charitable Foundation and the Morrison Centre for Peace.

“In First Nations culture, the storyteller is an important part of the community, often the most important. They shape the identity of the entire village. Tim gently tells stories that will change us, shape our identity and make us better people, if we will listen.
- Dr. Cheryl Bear, from the Bear Clan of Nadleh Whut’en First Nation in British Columbia, is an award-winning First Nations recording artist, speaker, teacher, and pastor who has travelled Canada and the world telling the Great Story of the Creator.

“A powerful and beautiful reminder to be attentive to each daily encounter, expecting to find rousing wonder around each and every corner. This book is meant to be read, sung, and then lived.”
- Mike Janzen, is an award-winning jazz pianist, recording artist, freelance composer, and orchestral arranger whose works include Steve Bell’s award-winning Symphony Sessions and “Bending Hendrix,” commissioned by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

Dancing with Dynamite was winner of the World Guild Awards for General Readership, 2011, and the Grace Irwin Award for Best Book of 2010 by a Canadian author from a Christian world view.

The Cardboard Shack Beneath the Bridge

One of the greatest tragedies of our time is homelessness. In an age of prosperity and plenty, hundreds of thousands of people continue to find themselves homeless. As one of Canada’s leading papers has noted, “Tim Huff is not just another outreach worker, but a tireless activist for the cause of the homeless.” Tim both wrote and illustrated this picture book that lays the groundwork for parents and teachers to start talking with children about homelessness.

“With artistry and compassion, this book captures the dignity of people in difficult situations.”
-Dave Toycen, President of World Vision Canada

“Tim’s book needs to be in the hands of every child because it is only through education, understanding and caring that our world will ever change. This book gives a voice to the silent sorrow of homelessness.”
-Colleen Taylor, President of the Ladybug Foundation and mother of its young founder, Hannah Taylor

Portions of the proceeds of this book will go to the following charitable agencies:
Youth Unlimited, The Daily Bread Food Bank, The Ladybug Foundation and Frontlines.

The Cardboard Shack Beneath the Bridge was the Word Guild Award winner for Best New Children’s Book, 2008.

Bent Hope: A Street Journal

Bent Hope was born out of Tim Huff’s first twenty years of unique and extensive work among homeless and street-involved youth and adults, in one of North America’s largest urban centres—Toronto, Canada. Bent Hope is a collection of thoughtful narratives birthed beneath crumbling bridges and in the hidden alcoves of darkened alleyways after midnight. These gripping true-life stories surface quietly from unforgiving corridors of fear, hurt and uncertainty—and unexpectedly and supernaturally transform them into fascinating places of intimacy and godly anticipation.

Bent Hope won the Word Guild Awards for General Readership and Culture, 2009.

“Tim is a true champion for justice. He also happens to be a street poet, a missional activist, and a wide-eyed mystic who is able to discern the traces of God in the strangest of places. This book is an enticing exploration of redemptive grace-in-action on the streets of Toronto.”
– Alan Hirsch, Author of The Forgotten Ways as well as The Shaping of Things to Come
(co-written with Michael Frost). Now living in the USA, Alan has also founded
and led a missional movement among the marginalized in Melbourne, Australia.

“This book is simply wonderful. I feel like I’ve lived another life as I have read it.
I’m not generally one for such language, but it is truly an anointed piece of work.”
– Steve Bell, Juno and multi award-winning, internationally renowned singer/musician/songwriter and co-founder of Signpost Music.

“Read three or four chapters of Bent Hope, then try to tell me with a straight face
that you don’t want to drop whatever you’ve been doing with your life, and hang out
with homeless youth.”
– Greg Paul, Author of God in the Alley and The Twenty Piece Shuffle, Executive Director of Sanctuary Ministries, a member of the Sanctuary community in Toronto, and a sometime ministry partner of Tim’s.

“This book has so impacted my life. You have no idea! And it has influenced my husband too. Neither of us will ever go downtown without change in our pockets, ready to give Hope and Dignity to the homeless. The other day my husband was coming out of a meeting and came across three homeless men. He remembered what we had discussed. He had some struggles deciding how much to give…wondering if there was an amount that would be too much, and also wondering if he should give a little to each of the three or everything to one. He gave to one man saying, “I hope this helps you to have a good day. God bless you.” The really cool thing is that someone else from the meeting saw what my husband did and asked him about it. Now that man, too, has decided never to walk by a homeless person without giving value to them. The ripple effect.. it’s huge!” ~ Book club member

“The title Bent Hope is just so appropriate. Not only is the hope given on the street bent because of the circumstances, Tim shows us how we have to bend to give hope. Physically, we sometimes have to bend down. We also have to bend from an agenda; bend emotionally too.” ~ Book club member