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It’s not the world championships or the Canadian titles that jump out immediately for legendary curling skip Colleen Jones, rather it’s her return to the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in 2013 that remains a key milestone.

The Scotties was a place Jones believed she would never be able to return to after a health scare battling with life-threatening bacterial meningitis in December 2010 and brain surgery the following March.

Getting a chance to play in the 2013 Scotties — reuniting with former second Mary-Anne Arsenault who now skips — sparked the idea for writing her memoir Throwing Rocks at Houses: My Life In and Out of Curling with co-author Perry Lefko.

“It was with this kind of renewed, first off, appreciation that I was alive and then, secondly, appreciation that I was back at the age of 52 to a place that had been such a dear place in my life,” Jones said. “Perry Lefko had seen it, he was working the media bench, and he said, ‘You should really do a book.’ Then he kind of kept pestering me, then we got a publisher and then next thing you know we’re doing a book.”

“That was sort of the genesis of it but the bacterial meningitis kind of awoken me to having gratitude to just life,” she added. “When you go through something pretty big, when you come out the other side you’re kind of like, ‘Okay that was pretty damn lucky and aren’t I lucky to be alive?’ That was sort of the motivation, the lessons I learned from that, even though it’s not the big part of the book it’s what I’m hoping sticks with people: to stay in the now, appreciate what you’ve got now and be thankful for your health.”

Jones, who works as a reporter and weather personality for CBC, packed her bags and hit the road coast-to-coast recently like the good old days on the curling tour to help promote the book and she explained how meeting up with old fans has been pretty cool and her message is coming through.

“Reconnecting with fans was big,” Jones said. “Also it seemed like while the message of bacterial meningitis and gratitude is there, it seems like that is part of the book that is resonating with people, the part about being thankful for what you have now, that comes through. People have been very receptive to that.”

Jones captured her first Canadian title in 1982, coincidentally the same year Scott Paper took over as title sponsor for the event, but it was around the turn of the century when her Halifax-based team with third Kim Kelly, second Arsenault, and lead Nancy Delahunt were synonymous with the Scott Tournament of Hearts, winning the event five times over a six-year span from 1999-2004, as well as capturing world championships in 2001 and 2004.

“That was such a wonderful ride and it’s funny how now Jennifer Jones is sort of on that same ride and Rachel Homan too. In many ways you’re so fully engrossed in the ride you’re on and the pressure that the time flies far too quickly for it,” she said. “I think the thing we look back on is how when you have passion combined with chemistry equals great things. That’s what we know from our ride, we had those magic ingredients. There are a lot of great curling teams out there every single year but I think the difference in what propels somebody to win is that they have that combination of passion and chemistry. I think we also knew when we were in our glory days that we were riding those magical things.

“I think we appreciated it but you definitely don’t ever want that ride to end when you’re on it because you’re playing in all these great things, the Continental Cup, the Canada Cup, the Scotties, the worlds. I also think we all look back and what luck we had over our curling careers because there are a lot of great women’s teams and they all start with the same dreams we had and we got to live it for a long time. That was pretty special.”

Although Jones was away on her book tour when the Pinty’s Grand Slam of Curling series rolled into her home province, she thought it was fantastic her former teammate Arsenault was able to qualify for the playoffs at the event in Truro, N.S., and having Kelly playing alongside as a spare. Arsenault entered the event as the sponsor’s exemption but defeated the likes of reigning Scotties champion Jennifer Jones and reigning world champion Alina Paetz.

“Mary-Anne has a lot of talent and Kim, obviously, is still such a world-class player that when she comes onto a team she adds a lot instantly because you don’t ever lose what you know and she knows it in her bones so the two of them together would be a pretty powerful combo,” Jones said. “I also think that not only does Mary-Anne’s success show what she’s capable of but it also shows what a lot of the teams who don’t get to play on the A circuit are capable of. There are still a lot of teams in that sort of B league that are truly outstanding curlers who either don’t have the sponsorship or the points to get into the main events.

“I think this idea of wild card teams and the idea of, first off, travelling the Grand Slams across the country is genius because it’s exposing the game to so many other people. It’s encouraging the great teams on the East Coast to have this opportunity to play with the greats and we saw what happened because she was fire.”

“It’s wonderful and Mary-Anne has that kind of talent, so do other teams too,” Jones added. “Hopefully things like the wild card for the teams that can shine and a local team, I think it’s such a great idea.”

On top of the championships, there was another trait linked to Jones during her time on the ice: chewing gum. While it was a habit to help deal with the stress, Jones had quit but just so happened to be chewing a piece during a book signing in Burlington, Ont.

“A man actually won a bet with his wife that I would be chewing gum but you don’t know I never chew gum,” Jones said with a laugh. “Obviously the gum chewing has stayed with me because people expect me to be doing it all of the time.”

Throwing Rocks at Houses: My Life In and Out of Curling, published by Viking Canada, is available now in bookstores.