Yvonne Watterson Writing
Yvonne Watterson Writing

considering the lilies & lessons from the field ©

More About Yvonne

More About Yvonne

More about Yvonne

Yvonne Watterson is a Northern Irish-born writer and educator, now based near Guadalajara, Mexico. Her career in public education spans 30 years, during which she led school reform initiatives featured in national outlets including The New York Times and Education Week. Her work as a high school principal in Arizona focused on equity, inclusion, and student advocacy, earning both local and national attention. Yvonne's writing life began in November 2011, after an invasive breast cancer diagnosis sent her searching for answers online. What began as survival grew into a practice of storytelling, with her work appearing beyond this blog in The Irish Times, Irish Central, Reading Ireland, and other outlets. Yvonne's essays and reflections explore themes ranging from The Troubles in Northern Ireland and the poetry of Seamus Heaney to personal experiences of illness, loss, and resilience after being widowed in 2013. She compiled and edited Documented Dreams, a bilingual collection of letters documenting her advocacy with young immigrant students, and she contributed to Bravados: An Anthology, featuring 21 personal narratives by expats living in the Lake Chapala region. Most recently, she collaborated with Stephen Travers on The Bass Player – Surviving the Miami Showband Massacre. Yvonne’s social justice advocacy has earned her numerous honors, including the City of Phoenix Martin Luther King “Living the Dream” Award and the YWCA Tribute to Women Social Justice Leader Award. She is also a musician, performing with her partner, Scott Henrich, in The Old Souls Band, a six-piece Americana ensemble based in Ajijic, Mexico and she plays violin in the Lake Chapala Community Orchestra. Her daughter, Sophie, also a writer, lives in Arizona. “If you have the words, there's always a chance that you'll find the way.” ― Seamus Heaney

About Yvonne

From there to here . . . Yvonne Watterson is a Northern Irish-born writer and educator, now based near Guadalajara, Mexico. Her career in public education spans nearly 30 years, during which she led school reform initiatives featured in national outlets including The New York Times and Education Week. Her work as a high school principal in Arizona focused on equity, inclusion, and student advocacy, earning both local and national attention. Her writing life began in 2011, after an invasive breast cancer diagnosis sent her searching for answers online. What began as survival grew into a practice of storytelling, with her work appearing in The Irish Times, Irish Central, Reading Ireland, and other outlets. Her essays and reflections explore themes ranging from The Troubles in Northern Ireland and the poetry of Seamus Heaney to personal experiences of illness, loss, and resilience after being widowed in 2013. She compiled and edited Documented Dreams, a bilingual collection of letters documenting her advocacy with young immigrant students, and she contributed to Bravados: An Anthology, featuring 21 personal narratives by expats living in the Lake Chapala region. Most recently, she collaborated with Stephen Travers on The Bass Player – Surviving the Miami Showband Massacre. Yvonne’s social justice advocacy has earned her numerous honors, including the City of Phoenix Martin Luther King “Living the Dream” Award and the YWCA Tribute to Women Social Justice Leader Award. She is also a musician, performing with her partner, Scott Henrich, in The Old Souls Band, an Americana ensemble based in Ajijic, Mexico and she plays violin in the Lake Chapala Community Orchestra. Her daughter, Sophie, is also a writer, living in Arizona.

  • Anahorish,  Anna Deavere Smith,  Anna Deavere Smith,  Anna Deavere Smith,  Art,  Awesome Women,  Great Advice,  Human Rights,  Justice,  Language matters,  Northern Ireland,  Northern Ireland Culture,  Oprah Winfrey,  Peace,  Phoenix,  Politics,  Prop 300,  Punishment,  Seamus Heaney,  The Peace Process,  The Troubles,  Theater

    with all boldness

    November 11, 2024 / No Comments

    On her afternoon talk show some years ago, Oprah Winfrey shared a list of eight powerful women she thought we should all know— as if we might encounter any of them at the grocery store or on the bus.  I remember one of them got my attention—Anna Deavere Smith, perhaps better known to some of you as Nancy McNally from…

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    Editor
  • Art,  Artisans,  Awesome Women,  Books,  Cat Stevens,  Crafts,  Educating Rita,  Field of Dreams,  Fiftieth Birthday,  Memoir,  Mother's Day,  Ordinary Things,  Seamus Heaney,  Willy Russell

    if my books could talk to you …

    July 9, 2024 / No Comments

    my collection of books is smaller than it has ever been, pared down when I knew I would be moving to Mexico over four years ago. I remember sitting on my living room floor in Phoenix, asking every single book, "Are you important enough to move to a new country with me?" with a follow-up question to myself, "How many…

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    Editor
  • Awesome Women,  Birthdays,  Christine Ohlman - "The Deep End",  Concerts 2014,  Crescent Ballroom - Dr. Dog,  Great Concert Venues,  Joan Osborne,  John Prine,  Memoir,  MIM,  Red Rocks Amphitheater,  Rodney Crowell,  Ryan Adams and Jenny Lewis,  Steve Earle and Shawn Colvin,  Steve Winwood,  Stevie Wonder,  The Crescent Ballroom,  The Hold Steady,  The Rhythm Room,  The War on Drugs,  Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

    cutting my own groove: distract, deny, and dance away

    June 6, 2024 / No Comments

    Life isn’t some vertical or horizontal line — you have your own interior world, and it’s not neat. ~ Patti Smith How do I begin to pack the stuff of the past twelve months in a box and tie it up with a big red bow? Just begin. Pluck out a memory and wrap it up. Move on to the next…

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    Editor
  • Awesome Women,  Carly Simon,  Cat Stevens,  Culture of breast cancer,  Facebook,  Fashion,  Memoir,  Memoir,  Mother Daughter Relationship,  Nora Ephron,  Soundtracks of our Lives,  Theater

    worn out

    September 4, 2023 / 1 Comment

    "I have been 60 for four years now, and by the time you read this I will probably have been 60 for five. I survived turning 60, I was not thrilled to turn 61, I was less thrilled to turn 62, I didn't much like being 63, I loathed being 64, and I will hate being 65. I don't let…

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