Harold Johnson pens new memoir about brother killed by drunk driver

It's been just over 30 years since Harold Johnson lost his older brother Clifford in a drunk driving accident, but he says it doesn't feel that way.

The former Crown prosecutor is the author of several books. His latest work, called Clifford,is part memoir, part fiction. The fiction in the book comes because Clifford was "bigger than real life."

According to Johnson, Clifford loved science but his schooling options in northern Saskatchewan were limited. He became a radio and television technician. On his way to a job with his three sons in the car, he was struck by a drunk driver.

The police confirmed to Johnson that a member of his family had died, but did not confirm it was Clifford until two hours later that day.

Johnson said writing this book helped him feel closer to his beloved brother.

"It just confirmed [the bond], made it a little more solid, a little more real. [It] helped me to feel his presence," Johnson said in an interview with CBCRadio's Saskatchewan Weekend.

Johnson saidwriting the book all this time later has helped him in the grieving process.

"He was the guy I talked to about everything. All of my ideas, I talked to him about them. But 30 years,I'm having ideas and I got nobody to talk to," he said.

"So I wrote Clifford and I put in all of those conversations that I wanted to have with him."

"[He was] more than a role model. When I came to this planet, he was here waiting for me," he said.

"He shaped me."