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.

  • After death of a spouse,  Animals,  Arizona Humane Society,  Best friends,  Dog Rescue,  Dogs,  Friendship,  Love,  Mary Oliver,  Memoir,  Mother Daughter Relationship,  Rites of passage,  Themes of Childhood,  Van Morrison

    nine years later . . . happy birthday, little dog

    October 19, 2022 / No Comments

    Sometimes in the early hours of the morning, when I am contemplating all that has happened in recent years, I find myself wanting to be reassured that as his fragile heart stopped working, Ken's last interaction on this earth was tender, with three pounds of unconditional love curled up like a comma on his chest.

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  • After death of a spouse,  Aging,  Being a Widow,  Bellaghy,  Castledawson,  Death and dying,  Dennis O'Driscoll,  Derry,  Dispatch from the Diaspora,  FInal wishes,  Funeral,  Grieving,  Keeping Going,  Loss,  Love,  Memoir,  Milestones,  Mourning,  Northern Ireland,  Northern Ireland Culture,  Postscript,  Rituals,  Seamus Heaney

    Epitaph . . . for your birthday

    September 20, 2022 / 5 Comments

    Epitaphby Merrit Malloy When I dieGive what’s left of me awayTo childrenAnd old men that wait to die.And if you need to cry,Cry for your brotherWalking the street beside you.And when you need me,Put your armsAround anyoneAnd give themWhat you need to give to me. I want to leave you something,Something betterThan wordsOr sounds. Look for meIn the people I’ve…

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  • After death of a spouse,  Animals,  Arizona Humane Society,  Best friends,  Dog Rescue,  Dogs,  Friendship,  Love,  Mary Oliver,  Memoir,  Mother Daughter Relationship,  Rites of passage,  Themes of Childhood,  Van Morrison

    an emotional rescue . . . for national dog day

    August 26, 2022 / No Comments

    A dog can never tell you what she knows from the smells of the world, but you know, watching her, that you know almost nothing. It’s National Dog Day, and I’m thinking about a little Chihuahua in Phoenix Edgar came into our lives almost nine years ago. I vividly recall our first encounter. There he was, standing in the center lane of 16th…

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  • Apartheid,  Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan,  Death and dying,  From the Republic of Conscience,  Funerals,  Human Rights,  Loss,  Nelson Mandela,  Northern Ireland,  Politics,  saying goodbye,  Seamus Heaney,  Soundtracks of our Lives,  The Cure at Troy,  Themes of Childhood,  Writing

    Dear Nelson Mandela

    July 18, 2022 / 2 Comments

    I believe in Nelson Mandela’s vision. I believe in a vision shared by Gandhi and King and Abraham Lincoln. I believe in a vision of equality, justice, freedom and multi-racial democracy, built on the premise that all people are created equal. - Barack Obama

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