About The Author

Autumn’s Grace is my first novel. It’s a story of how one family manages the experience of palliative care with hope, humour, and grit, despite sibling conflicts, generational pulls and career demands.

I came to this project as a Registered Nurse (MScN) steeped in community and hospital nursing. My early clinical career included surgical intensive care, community care, and long term care, although, the bulk of my career was spent in administration and research. I have presented papers at provincial, national, and international conferences (nursing and gerontology), been an invited speaker to nursing conferences, authored book chapters in Nursing Management in Canada (first and second editions) and co-authored many research papers.

I no longer practice as a Registered Nurse. Instead I apply everything I ever learned about health, communities, and organizations to my role as a volunteer. In fact, if I were to carry a banner it would be printed with Margaret Mead’s observation, “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” To that end, I worked extensively with the Waterdown Montessori School,  Hillfield Strathallan Parents’ Association, and a citizen action group – Friends of Rural Communities and the Environment (FORCE). In March 2013, FORCE successfully prevented a large industrial open pit mine from developing in north Flamborough.

In the early ’00’s when I experienced a cluster of illnesses with family and friends,  I felt compelled to write. The outreach programs at The School for Writers  – Humber College were instrumental in developing my confidence that the issues that worried me could be explored through fiction. That confidence wavers every time I sit in front of a keyboard.