The Life Story Writer – I am …
Janice Henshaw
- A professional writer with a Bachelor’s degree specializing in English and Business Administration
- Member of the National Association of Memoir Writers NAMW
- A former member of the Editors’ Association of Canada
- A former Executive Director of a provincial association – so I have the background to understand your achievements in the business world.
- An athlete that has competed in golf, snow skiing, sprint triathlons, badminton, and tennis – I know the drive that pushes one to excel.
- An active community member, with seven years as a palliative care volunteer. I have the experience and compassion to listen well – to listen with genuine interest, friendliness, and kindness
- Blessed with a great sense of humour and a lively interest and curiosity in everything!
- In love with being outside – hiking, kayaking, sailing, skiing, swimming, and photography
- Experienced in construction, gardening, farming, fishing
- A veteran RV traveler – I have just returned from a 15 month trip across Canada, down the east coast to the southernmost tip of Florida, through the southern states, and up the west coast for a total of 43,000km.
- A proud Mother of two wonderful sons
- Servant to Baloo, a definite Heinz 57.
The Vagabond Girl – My Story
Map of my trip – 43,000km
In early 2012 I was gainfully employed with plans of working until I was 65, doing all the “right things” and trying to squirrel away savings for the future. I was so busy trying to stay abreast of everything that I not only thought life was passing me by in a blur, I knew it was. But everyone else seemed to be on the same treadmill and so I persisted. And then it all changed in a day. My job was gone, I had no other source of revenue, and so I did what most people would do, I prepared a resume and started looking for work.
It actually felt wonderful to be free for the first time in decades – I didn’t have to go in every day to work, no daily onslaught of emails and problems to be solved, just simple, glorious freedom. Days passed and then weeks. People everywhere had stories to tell me, and I read about it in the newspaper and magazines too – stories about the tough economy, and how difficult it was for people over 50 to find work. I suddenly felt I was ‘over the hill’ and my heart sank so low I was afraid that one day I would have to shake it out of my gum boots.
But that all changed one morning around 2:00am, that crazy scary time of the night when the brain goes into worry mode and blows up every little issue and accumulates them into something insurmountable. This time, I had a new stunning thought – what if I just left, what if I…ran away? And that’s how it all began, my 43,000km trip across Canada and down the eastern seaboard to the southernmost tip of Florida – just me – towing a 14 foot trailer and sharing it with my four legged pal, Baloo.