I'm a happily married writer and teacher, with a wonderful daughter named Rachel, an extraordinary husband named John and a naughty cat named Lockey.
As a child, I had twin passions of writing and music. When I grew up, I was able to bring them together in my teaching career and in my books. All three of my novels have music as an important theme. Also, for the last 22 years, I have taught nearly all primary and junior grades, and have taught music from Grade 1 to Grade 8.
At the root of my history are the twin facts that I am adopted and have felt not quite whole without the knowledge of my biological roots—like a plant that doesn’t cast a shadow. Following some detective work, I made contact with my birth aunt, Bev Hazzard (my birth mother, Louise, had passed away). She then provided me with the great gift of my own personal history. It is no exaggeration to say that what she told me completely changed the trajectory of my life. On my mother’s side, I am Haudenosaunee, and specifically of Cayuga descent. My grandmother, Marjorie Hill, grew up at the Six Nations of the Grand River and attended residential school in Brantford at the notorious Mohawk Institute, also known as the “mush hole.”
Even more galvanizing was a fact I learned by applying for my adoption papers from the Children’s Aid Society. I discovered that I was the second birth for my mother, and that I had an older brother who had also been adopted through CAS. The story of how I leapt through countless bureaucratic hoops in order to be granted the opportunity to be put in touch with him may possibly make it into a book one day. I will just say for now that my birth brother Rob Herlick is a joy to have in my life at last, and he feels the very same way. Rachel has forged a lovely relationship with her birth cousin, Katie. I have a wonderful new sister-in-law, Mary. We are so grateful to be able to share the rest of our lives together!
As a result of the twists and turns of my own personal history, I have become passionate about issues to do with education for First Nations, Metis and Inuit children. Through conversations with elders, friends, family and by reading, attending events at Six Nations and going to lots of conferences and workshops, I am trying to learn all I can, taking tentative steps along a lifelong road. I am very grateful to Indigenous colleagues at the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario who have welcomed me with warmth, friendship and compassion. I learned immeasurably from being one of the writers for an ETFO project entitled, Engaging Aboriginal Learners. It combines aspects of the Ontario Curriculum with games and tenets from the organization, Right to Play Canada. I also was involved in a project called ETFO Growth Chart Literacy Prompts, which provides classroom resources for Indigenous texts. Finally, and most importantly, I have been provided with key teachings from a few transformative experiences. I was humbled to meet and engage with terrifically bright and insightful Indigenous youth at the Amiskwaciiy Academy in Edmonton. As well, I was granted the honour of participating in workshops and readings at the Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society, where I was tremendously moved by writings produced by the talented young men involved. And the experience of doing a reading at the Edmonton Young Offenders Centre was life-changing not only because of the insight it gave into the reality for Indigenous youth in the correctional system in Canada, but also because of the conversation I had with a young man afterward about his favourite books in the library. His spirit was clearly evident, and very beautiful, as he took me around the shelves and we flipped through pages he loved. It was unquestionably one of the great book conversations I have ever had with anyone. I have often thought about him and hoped that he might find a way to channel that spirit and use it to soar in his life.