About

I grew up with stories and stories helped me grow up.  Though we emigrated to Aotearoa New Zealand when I was a child, my father and mother kept Ireland alive in our hearts, telling us stories – both true and imagined – of our land, our people, our struggles, and the ever-present spirit world.  These stories, along with others I nurtured in my rich imagination, helped me navigate the two lands in my life and indeed two realms, seen and unseen.

I think our stories form within us before we even know language, then gather words to express themselves.  They weave us into who we become.  My privileged experiences over two decades as a nurse allowed me to see how they write themselves into our bodies.  I nursed in a wide variety of roles and health settings before leaving the profession to study and practice law. I acquired a Master of Laws and practiced law for 10 years, learning how to commandeer words for defined purposes, before concluding that law was not good for my soul. Returning to the healing arts I studied in the space where our bodies and words meet. These modalities are often described as complementary therapies.  I prefer to see these healing practices as reviving ancient ways of being that enable us to live in harmony with ourselves, each other and nature.

It was in this season of my life that stories returned – carried by horses. I did not grow up around horses – they didn’t come to my life until I was in my early 50’s.  Wonderful things unfold when you simply fall in love with these magnificent creatures.  I live with a herd of 4 horses and together we facilitate equine learning and therapy opportunities for humans.  Horses and stories reach into places we may not otherwise be able to travel.  There is an enchantment inherent in each, something elusive, hidden in mist.  I have always loved mist, no matter how foggy.  It changes our perception of the world around us.  My writing is an invitation to take a journey into the mist, an opportunity to feel the world differently.

Living rurally, with my wonderful husband, horses and animal family, I have two adult children and two grandchildren, all of whom are deeply treasured.