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.

  • Dispatch from the Diaspora,  Feminism,  Love,  Meg Ryan,  Milestones,  Nora Ephron,  Online dating,  Relationships,  Rob Reiner,  Social Media,  When Harry Met Sally,  You've Got Mail

    match point ~ seeking romance & mr. right

    February 14, 2023 / No Comments

    A match made in heaven? No. In spite of all the tactics and algorithms deployed to make sense of our checked boxes and declare us a 100% match  or  subsequently updating our relationship as  'official' on Facebook, we are making this match right here, right here where angels fear to tread, in the messiness of the middle of two lives…

    Read More
    Editor
  • and What I Wore,  Art,  Awesome Women,  Carly Simon,  Cat Stevens,  Culture of breast cancer,  Facebook,  Memoir,  Memoir,  Mother Daughter Relationship,  Nora Ephron,  Soundtracks of our Lives,  Theater,  Writers

    worn out

    September 6, 2021 / No Comments

    The other day, I went shopping in Guadalajara where I found a blouse I’ve been looking for – for almost 40 years. I suppose an explanation is in order. It begins – as many stories do – with an encounter with something by Nora Ephron. In the summer of 2013, my best friend and I went to see the enchanting…

    Read More
    Editor
  • and What I Wore,  Art,  Awesome Women,  Carly Simon,  Cat Stevens,  Culture of breast cancer,  Facebook,  Memoir,  Memoir,  Mother Daughter Relationship,  Nora Ephron,  Soundtracks of our Lives,  Theater,  Writers

    Out of control – missing Nora Ephron in the time of corona.

    June 29, 2020 / No Comments

    The coronavirus pandemic has meant months now of living at home with a beautiful view and a computer at my disposal.  It is, as they say, what it is. I’m not complaining. I’m more confused than anything else by a lack of motivation to do anything that’s good for me. Unlike overwhelmed and exhausted front-line workers in places where the…

    Read More
    Editor
  • Dispatch from the Diaspora,  Feminism,  Love,  Meg Ryan,  Milestones,  Nora Ephron,  Online dating,  Relationships,  Rob Reiner,  Social Media,  When Harry Met Sally,  You've Got Mail

    match point ~ seeking romance & mr. right

    February 13, 2020 / 1 Comment

    A match made in heaven? No. In spite of all the tactics and algorithms deployed to make sense of our checked boxes and declare us a 100% match  or  subsequently updating our relationship as  'official' on Facebook, we are making this match right here, right here where angels fear to tread, in the messiness of the middle of two lives…

    Read More
    Editor
Load More
Copyright © & Usage 2025 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.
 

Loading Comments...