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.

  • crowdfunding,  Facebook,  Kickstarter,  letters to pop stars,  pop culture,  Pop Music,  Social Media,  Soundtracks of our Lives,  Twitter,  Writing

    A Tale of Two Pensioners . . . Hungry like the Wolf

    April 24, 2015 / No Comments

    Within 24 hours of this post, we made a dream come true. The project is funded with spare change.  Thanks to all who helped! For the uninitiated as well as those who might be looking for ways to raise money to support a pet project, crowdfunding might be the way to go,  “the practice of funding a project or venture…

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    Editor
  • Friendship,  Ireland,  Irish culture,  Irish Diaspora,  Language matters,  Phoenix Art Museum,  Shel Silverstein,  Social Media,  Twitter,  Writing

    looking after Ireland . . . madeleine albright & me

    January 28, 2014 / 20 Comments

    The Voice by Shel Silverstein There is a voice inside of you, That whispers all day long, “I feel that this is right for me, I know that this is wrong.” No teacher, preacher, parent, friend Or wise man can decide What’s right for you– just listen to The voice that speaks inside. I’m finding that with age, it is easier for…

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    Editor
  • Awesome Women,  Family,  Health Activist Writer's Challenge 2013,  Memoir,  Mother Daughter Relationship,  Northern Ireland,  Northern Ireland Culture,  Ordinary Things,  Social Media,  Soundtracks of our Lives,  Themes of Childhood,  Themes of childhood,  Twitter

    take two poems, a shot of Skype & call me in the morning …

    April 23, 2013 / 12 Comments

    Social media has enriched my life in ways I never thought possible, while at the same time snuffing out a way of life for so many of us.  I will always treasure the hand-written letters that also served as envelopes.  Trimmed in red, white, and blue, those sky-blue single sheets, delicate as onion skin, were sturdy enough to make the…

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    Editor
  • Blogging,  Breast Cancer Treatment,  Culture of breast cancer,  Facebook,  Health Activist Writer's Challenge 2013,  Health Statistics,  Language of Cancer,  Memoir,  Pink Ribbons,  Social Media,  television,  Themes of childhood,  Twitter,  Van Morrison

    on television, Twitter, & the truth

    April 11, 2013 / 7 Comments

    This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon…

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