Welcome to the world of powerful, transgressive stories that inspire change.
My life’s work is guiding these stories out into the open, working with other artists, activists, and scholars, to transform trouble into art.
My roots are settler roots, and I am grateful to the land for sheltering and sustaining my ancestors.
I was born in the traditional territories of the Saugeen Ojibway, near Lake Huron. I now live on the Haldimand Tract, on land that was promised to the Six Nations.
I have lived in an old tobacco barn, on the Island of Montreal, on the eastern seaboard, in great river cities and in old steel towns, high in the Southern Rockies, and in the great Southwest.
Wherever I go, I am at home.
You can find me in print and online.
My latest book, Body & Soul: Stories for Skeptics & Seekers, (Caitlin Press 2019) is diverse, unorthodox, and wholly original. With a Foreword by Alison Pick.
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Join me & find your people
Meet change-makers in creative nonfiction. In 2020, I founded a series of life-writing webinars sponsored by Awakening Spirituality, an online community of seekers. These are free, open to all writers, and held the 3rd Wednesday of each month, 7-8 PM Eastern (USA/Toronto).
The Stylish Pen. Enjoy short, lively conversations with book coach Caroline Topperman about the sometimes heart-breaking world of writing, editing, and publishing. Posted on occasion, or when we feel the need to talk.
March 4-6 2022 Writing into the Sacred: Speaking to Light sponsored by Creating Connection West. An online retreat focused on writing and somatic exercises for exploring beauty and truth, solitude and community, contemplation and action. With facilitators Lana Cullis, Debra Donohue, Vickie MacArthur, and more.
October 29 2022 Spiritual Life Writing panel at the Wild Writers Festival. We’ll explore the how’s and why’s of an unsung genre, and what’s needed to put it on the map. I am moderating, with distinguished guests Clarence Cachagee, Hollay Ghadery, and Natalie Wing-Stevenson. Join us in person, and add your voice to the conversation.