Yvonne Watterson

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.

Memoir, mesothelioma

Guest Post: in sickness & in health …

November 10, 2012 / 5 Comments

In this guest post, Cameron St. James writes about caring for his wife, Heather, following her diagnosis of malignant pleural mesothelioma, caused by second-hand exposure to asbestos. Until Cameron contacted me, I knew little of the disease other than that it had killed one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Warren Zevon. Cameron St. James is committed to raising awareness of mesothelioma and exposing the dangers of…

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Memoir

the day before Obama won again

November 7, 2012 / 8 Comments

In Arizona, the polls closed three hours ago, and the results are coming in. While cable news networks have been pulsating all evening with the preemptive punditry we have grown to expect, CNN is projecting another term for President Obama with 274 electoral votes at 9:45PM Mountain Standard Time, and John King, wizard of the interactive electoral map has just…

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Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Memoir

women . . . booby-trapped in October

October 27, 2012 / 11 Comments

boo·by trap Meaning: A practical joke. Also a concealed and possibly lethal trap. Noun: A thing designed to catch the unwary, in particular Verb: Place a booby trap in or on (an object or area): “the area was booby-trapped.” Synonyms: snare, trick into doing something “Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November . . .” the rhyme reminds me, as…

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Memoir

blog action … deferred action

October 15, 2012 / 5 Comments

Blog Action Day is a global effort designed to promote discussion around a single issue that affects each of us. Since 2007, this annual event has inspired positive conversation in the blogosphere, with writers exploring universal topics related to our environment, poverty, climate change, water, and food. This year’s theme, The Power of We, provides an opportunity to define and celebrate the…

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