Find out more about my memoir No Letter in Your Pocket
I’m delighted to offer my first SoulCollage(R) workshop since before COVID. This free public session, “Discover the Power of Archetypes: Intro to SoulCollage(R),” will be held on Friday, March 28 at Powell River Public Library, from 2 to 5 pm. Celebrate yourself through the fun, intuitive process of SoulCollage®, a dynamic process based on Jungian…
I was delighted to spend a half-hour yesterday interviewed by Matthew DiBiase, a Pennsylvania-based author, on his podcast The Packaged Tourist Show. When he first contacted me via LinkedIn, I assumed he was someone trying to market tourism packages, which is not my form of travel at all. But no, he explained that he likes…
It was a pleasure to profile activist filmmaker Liz Marshall for the spring 2024 issue of Sunshine Coast Life magazine. As a director, she collaborated with three Indigenous multimedia creators — Kawaya7 Ecko Aleck of the Nlaka’pamux Nation (Lytton, BC), Kwamanchi Alfonso Salinas of the shíshálh Nation and Charlene SanJenko of Splatsin of the Secwépemc…
It was a delight to discuss my memoir, the #MeToo Movement, toxic masculinity, forgiveness, and more with Meggie Royer, editor of the feminist publication Persephone’s Daughters. Meggie asked me if I felt comfortable using the term “toxic masculinity” and I said yes. Since then, I’ve learned that it can alienate some men. To me, it…
It’s rare to be asked, in an interview with a businessman, about your spiritual beliefs and how they’ve influenced your life choices. Thankfully, author and executive Ken Hannaman is no ordinary businessperson. He’s the author and host of the podcast Ungraduated Living and like me, drawn to eastern philosophies and religions. That’s part of what…
It was a treat to interview Andreas and Kendra Tize, owners of Secret Cove Marina in Halfmoon Bay, BC. I got to luxuriate, albeit briefly, in their 5,000-square-foot float home and discover the cozy seafood restaurant The Upper Deck. (I knew Andreas as the Roberts Creek rep for the Sunshine Coast Regional District.) Their marina…
I enjoyed my recent chat with Nelia Hutt, host of the Apple podcast Giving Starts With You, based in Barrie, Ont. Under the topic Writing As a Transformational Tool, I discussed how I help others find their voice when writing about traumatic events. I shared my experiences writing the incest memoir No Letter in Your…
Listen to the podcast here. I enjoyed my chat with Abby Ayoola, host of the Toronto podcast How to Survive Society. We discussed my incest memoir No Letter in Your Pocket and my work coaching authors of trauma memoirs. We talked about how to stay resilient, and find the courage to share your…
I am teaching an 8-week, online creative nonfiction class Writing From Pain to Power in the spring of 2022 through the University of King’s College in Halifax. My students are from across the country, writing about real-life traumas in their lives. Most are hoping to publish a memoir or essays. Using a trauma-informed approach, we…
I profiled and photographed Candace Campo, co-founder of Talaysay Tours and a shishalh Nation member, for the winter 2022 issue of Sunshine Coast Life Magazine. Each year, her First Nations ecotour company hosts visitors from around the globe, introducing them to Pacific Northwest Indigenous culture, history, ancestors, local flora and fauna, and the spiritual significance…
It was a delight to profile Jessica Silvey, who’s shíshálh and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) with the ancestral name Kwahama Kwatleematt, and has been weaving cedar baskets, hats, and décor for more than 30 years. I profiled her, the owner of Red Cedar Woman studio, as the cover story for the winter 2021 issue of…
I’ll be one of six writers reading live on Zoom on March 16, as part of Port Moody Public Library’s Writers in Our Midst program. The theme is love stories. I’m reading “Lost at Sea,” a love poem. Many thanks to my student Eric D’Souza for putting this together. See @WritersinourMidst for details.
As my late husband Frank McElroy was dying at home through 2018-19, it was tough to write about my challenges as a caregiver. Although I couldn’t distance myself from the ongoing experience, I wanted to describe both my conflicting emotions and the overwhelming support and generosity of my local community. The result became the essay…
Some people could never imagine offering comfort as a bedside companion to a stranger who is dying. Or sitting in an all-night vigil for someone’s final hours. In hospice training, we learn that compassion, deep listening, acceptance, and non-judgment are core traits needed to remain truly present with those who are dying or grieving a…
I was delighted to receive one-day training in Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) on Dec. 6, 2016 in Sechelt, BC. Roughly a dozen of us attended, including local teachers and providers of an after-school teen drop-in program. The event’s co-facilitators were Wayne Spychka, my boss as an SCCSS gender violence prevention worker, and Keely Halward, Wayne’s boss. Both are experienced MVP mentors and…
The following article, which I wrote, appeared in the Sept. 26, 2016 issue of the global e-newsletter Soul Treasures, published by KaleidoSoul in Massachusetts. Reader Kas Sobey-Knabb responded: “Heather, just wanted to reach out to you after reading your upbeat and lovely piece in Kaleidosoul Soul Songs.Enjoyed it and meeting your 2 Neters [symbolic guides]! Quite colorful…
I was honoured to organize and host Canada’s first Mentors in Violence Prevention program in Sechelt, BC on May 5. Here’s a story that I wrote for the local media: A former B.C. Lions player, open discussions and hands-on scenarios recently helped about 40 local high school students learn what words and actions can…
From participating in a sweat lodge to creating their own medicine bag, UBC Dentistry students gained new cross-cultural depth and knowledge at a remote B.C. clinic. Click this Impressions fall 13 Chilcotin link to read “Dentistry Students in the Chilcotin: Gratitude Goes Both Ways” (Impression magazine, fall 2013, University of B.C.)
A book about John Steinbeck’s marine biologist friend inspired B.C. lawyer Myron Plett to move to Ucluelet and set up practice in this island town. Plett is one of four B.C. lawyers I profiled for the cover story “Thinking big in small communities” for the winter 2012 issue of UBC Law magazine. Pictured on the…
Dr. Rosamund Harrison, chair of pediatric dentistry at the University of British Columbia, does exciting cutting-edge research and clinical work in low-income and new immigrant communities in Canada. Many of UBC’s treated preschool children have a high rate of cavities. Her compassionate, hands-on work has resulted in huge improvements in dental care in groups ranging from South Asians and Vietnamese in…
These samples of my published magazine writing show the range of topics I’ve covered over the decades in Health and Lifestyle. Periodically, I add new material and more from my archives. Stay tuned.
In the fall of 2008, I interviewed forensic dentist Dr. David Sweet, who runs B.O.L.D., the world’s leading forensic dentistry lab at the University of British Columbia. Sweet has pioneered many cutting-edge forensic techniques and appeared on the television show Cold Case Files. Click this link http://www.dentistry.ubc.ca/impressions/2008/fall/Impressions-Fall2008.pdf to see my Impressions magazine cover story, page 9. (Impressions won…
I share the tale of my wedding in a friend’s outdoor labyrinth, a replica of the medieval design in Chartres Cathedral, France. This feature appeared in two magazines in western Canada in 2006. Click this link West coast wedding (Sunshine Coast LIfe magazine) to read my article, with accompanying photos.
As a neophyte rider and horse-whisperer-in-training, I discovered the benefits and challenges of “Equine therapy” on assignment for Alive magazine, Canada’s national health publication, in May 2004. Read my tongue-in-cheek feature at Equine Therapy.
In the December 2003 issue of Canada’s Alive magazine, I introduced a new technique of applying balls of various sizes to pressure points. Using one’s weight against the balls goes deep into tissue, relaxes muscles, and helps to loosen tendons. It works! Click this link Have a ball (2) to read my feature.
Both traditional and alternative medicine have their strengths and weaknesses. As contributing writer to Canada’s national publication Alive magazine in 2003, I wrote a feature that explores these two treatment modalities. This piece explores the benefits of holistic medicine, and the value of allopathic medicine for surgeries, serious injuries, and specialized care. Click this link to read…
“If a woman things her dazzling nail polish looks like dynamite, she’s not far from the truth: it contains a potentially harmful chemical used to make explosives. . .” That’s how my feature “Spiked!” begins in the April 2003 issue of Canada’s national Alive magazine. The article not only addresses the ingredients of most nail polishes, including toxic…
In a touching gesture, a young bride exchanges rings with her son, offering him a lifelong symbol of her love at her wedding ceremony. Click this link Three rings: Real Weddings magazine to read my feature in the July 2002 issue of Real Weddings.
Nicaraguan women in the 1990s faced high unemployment, exploitation and discrimination. But thanks to Vancity funding to a grassroots group in this central American nation, women gained job and business training and micro-loans. I wrote about this for Working Dollars, the newsletter for VanCity Savings Credit Union. Click on this Nicaraguan women link to read…