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.

  • 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…

    Read More
    Editor
  • Act Two,  Memoir,  Milestones,  Music,  Steve Earle and Shawn Colvin

    At home in a song

    May 17, 2024 / No Comments

    Over our first few years of singing together, it became our song, a staple in a repertoire of songs into which listeners will stitch their own meaning too.

    Read More
    Editor
  • Act Two,  Memoir,  Milestones,  Music,  Steve Earle and Shawn Colvin

    And you can tell everybody, this is our song …

    January 26, 2024 / No Comments

    Over our first few years of singing together, it became our song, a staple in a repertoire of songs into which listeners will stitch their own meaning too.

    Read More
    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 in 2014

    December 29, 2014 / 16 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…

    Read More
    Editor
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...