As a little girl I loved to draw pictures every day. I created an ongoing story about a family through my drawings for five or six years, documenting all the experiences I had in my young life. It was a world with many children, dogs, grandparents, adventures and misadventures. They were busy pictures with word bubbles and detailed settings. My parents thought I was destined to become an artist.  

     In adolescence the drawings were replaced with journals, growing in length and detail over the years about the turbulent world of a teenager in the ‘60s. Writing became a part of everyday life, as I sorted through those years of discovering who I was destined to be! The demands of the university years, marriage and motherhood meant less time for personal writing, and any thoughts of writing a book were put on hold.The journals were put away and life just happened. 

     My first degree, in Psychology , from McMaster University, led me to my first full-time job, in a treatment centre for emotionally disturbed children. Working with these school-aged children with emotional needs gave me an opportunity to write for children, simple stories or poems to help them work through some of their emotional issues .  Eventually, telling stories, writing poems, and drawing for children became a beloved hobby while raising my own children. I returned to McMaster University, when my children were ages 6 and 7, to complete a second degree, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and RN programme . I somehow knew I was destined to become a nurse, and once again chose a career with children, adolescents and young parents. As a Public Health Nurse for 24 years, I worked in the community in clinics, schools, and home visiting, in a health teaching role as well as a counselling role. Still there were many opportunities to use books, as well as my own stories and poems to meet the needs of my very youngest clients. 

    Writing was always a part of my life ! I always assumed I would one day write children’s books ! 

When I became a grandmother I wrote story after story for the grandchildren, once again documenting their growth and development ! Yet publishing a book remained a distant dream ! 

    When my parents’ developed dementia and our roles reversed, they became like my children. This was a role I had never anticipated. Throughout my life they had always been my greatest support, my mentors, and best friends. I never noticed them growing old, and suddenly our world turned upside down. 

     This eight year journey is what inspired me to write my first book, a memoir, because it was a story that needed to be told. I saw others struggling with the same issues as I was. I had documented many stories and scenarios that happened over those eight years. After my last parent, my mom, passed away, I knew the time had come to put the stories down on paper in a meaningful way. I needed to do this, for my own healing and to tell others about this, so they might learn from my experience. 

     I believe there is still a children’s writer in me, but for now I am grateful to have had my first book published. This memoir was a labour of love and a gift to my children and grandchildren. In the mean time I am loving life with my husband Jim. We share so many interests, and activities such as hiking, cycling, gardening, sailing, skiing, swimming — all things we share with friends and family. I have learned, from my parents, even as they struggled with dementia, what truly matters in life — that relationships matter more than things, and to be wise in the choices you make everyday and above all, to be kind. 

Janet V. Fraser , 2020