Yvonne Watterson
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Yvonne Watterson

considering the lilies ©

More About Yvonne

More About Yvonne

More about Yvonne

Yvonne Watterson is a Northern Irish-born writer now living in Mexico. Her work has appeared in The Irish Times, Irish Central, Reading Ireland, and elsewhere. Yvonne's essays begin in all sorts of places - a song, a story, a ballpark, a polling place, a graveyard - but they return to the same complicated business of belonging to more than one place - what makes a place, a person, or a moment feel like home.

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. In 2025, 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.

  • BC Action,  Breast Cancer Advocacy,  Breast Cancer Awareness Month,  Pinkwashing,  Susan G Komen Foundation

    Pink Ribbons & Forever Chemicals.

    September 28, 2021 / No Comments

    I can already feel it, the encroachment of October, breast cancer awareness industry month. It’s been ten years since since a doctor diagnosed me with invasive breast cancer and told me I was simply one of the eight women who will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime, ten years  since I started paying attention to the…

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  • Art,  Awesome Women,  Breast Cancer Treatment,  Breast Reconstruction,  Culture of breast cancer,  Feminism,  Kellys Cellars,  Mammograms,  Mother Daughter Relationship,  Nipple Tattoo,  P.INK DAY 2013,  Pink Ribbon Culture,  Pink Ribbons,  Pinkwashing,  Sexism,  Shopping,  Themes of childhood,  Tina Fey,  Writers

    A mastectomy by any other name . . .

    October 17, 2019 / 2 Comments

    NOTE: A version of this post appeared on October 20, 2013, as Breast Cancer Awareness Month was winding down. The pictures on this post offended someone so much that she or he reported them to Facebook and asked to have them removed. And I thought the cancer was the offensive thing. The story that follows is mine. I chose to share…

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  • Aging,  Breast Cancer Awareness Month,  Depression,  Health Statistics,  Memoir,  Mental Health,  World Health Organization

    All in Your Head . . . on World Mental Health Day.

    October 10, 2018 / No Comments

      Mental illness affects all of us, but there are still many myths and misconceptions about these disorders. If people are willing to talk openly about mental health, we can defeat stigma and discrimination against people with mental illnesses.  ~  Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter October 10, 2018 marks the 26th anniversary of World Mental Health Day, established by The World Federation for…

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  • BC Action,  Breast Cancer Advocacy,  Breast Cancer Awareness Month,  Pinkwashing,  Susan G Komen Foundation

    Please Don’t Pink for this Warrior – I’m Talking to You Ford Motor Company.

    October 3, 2018 / No Comments

    About a month to go before October disappears and all signs of breast cancer awareness disappear from grocery store shelves and perfume counters, from America all the way to Ireland where they are painting it pink as well. In their place, will be the autumnal hues of Thanksgiving, and some of us will forget to be aware of breast cancer, until the…

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Copyright © & Usage 2026 Yvonne Watterson Writing - All rights reserved. All content published on this blog—including articles, images, and media—is the property of Yvonne Watterson , unless otherwise noted. Unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express written permission is strictly prohibited. You may share brief excerpts and links to blog posts for non-commercial purposes, provided that full and clear credit is given to Yvonne Watterson with a direct link to the original content. This blog is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License . Disclaimer The views expressed on this blog are solely those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of any organizations or affiliates. Some posts may include affiliate links, meaning I may earn a small commission—at no additional cost to you—if you choose to make a purchase through those links. These help support the blog and its content.
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