Walt had his 65th birthday party on Friday and raised over $1,000 to buy copies of the book. These books will be placed in libraries, prisons, and Women’s Resource Centres; all in a effort to get the book into more women’s hands. Walt, thank you for making “When Love Hurts” part of your birthday celebration!…
A wonderful woman name Darla recently celebrated her birthday. Instead of people bringing gifts to her party, she invited people to buy copies of When Love Hurts so they could be placed in libraries in the Greater Vancouver Area. Enough money was raised to buy 70 books! Her motivation was simple: she wants as many…
Sometimes as I interact with other professionals they suggest that a given woman, dealing with abuse, is “in denial” about her situation. Such a comment makes me crazy. I realize that some women do not always dwell on the full gravity of their situation because it is just too overwhelming. They deal with as much…
I recently saw the movie “The Secret Life of Bees”. This is a great movie about strong women who support and encourage each other through tough times. The main character, Lily, flees her abusive father, searching for safety and answers to her questions. The movie does a good job of portraying domestic violence. Lily’s mother…
This past week was the end of another amazing support group here in the Vancouver area. At the close of the evening, women shared what the 10 weeks had meant to them. They talked about the power of being listened to, respected and affirmed. They spoke of how wonderful it was to be in a…
We are thrilled that our book is available in bookstores from coast to coast. I was overwhelmed the other day when our distributor listed off the loooong list of independent bookstores that have chosen to carry our book (not to mention the large chain stores). A big part of what kept Jill and I going…
Jill and I are thrilled that Canadian Living decided to write a piece about the book in the June edition of their magazine. You can find it on page 76. For us as authors, our passion is about getting this book into the hands of women who could benefit from it. With Canadian Living’s broad…
Noellee Mowatt is nineteen years old, nine months pregnant, an immigrant to this country and currently in prison in Ontario. Why is she in prison? Because she will not testify against her boyfriend in court. Yesterday I talked to a recent client of mine who I thought had some things in common with Noellee and…
When is murder not murder? In the eyes of the law, it seems that it is not murder if a man kills his wife. I was deeply upset this week to hear about the death of Hendrikje Priester of Abbotsford who was murdered on March 25th by her common-law husband. There is much about this…
I just spent a wonderful weekend in Chilliwack facilitating a two day workshop for professionals on the issues of Woman Abuse. Over 50 people were there from diverse backgrounds. We had transition house workers, counsellors, probation officers, clergy and even one lawyer. The discussion times were exciting and I found it very encouraging to work…
It was a great experience to be interviewed on CBC radio’s B.C. Almanac. The show airs throughout all of B.C. so it was a wonderful opportunity to raise the issues we are concerned about with a large audience. But the most amazing part was what happened the day after the show aired. Our distributor was…
International Women’s Day is an important day to mark. We have a lot to celebrate. Because of the determined work of many women who have gone before us we enjoy today more freedoms and opportunities than ever before in human history. We remember with some shock that the movement towards giving equality to women is…