Monna McDiarmid

LOVES
I adore stories of all kinds.
They help us understand
ourselves and others.
I love to watch
the blue-green sparkles
of the ocean
and the red-orange shivers
in our wood stove.
Waves and flames,
the two channels
of Luddite television.
I’m obsessed
with recording life
through photography,
creating beautiful homes,
not so wild about the ironing.
I appreciate cheese and bread
in all their forms,
poetry by Naomi Shihab Nye
and Andrea Gibson,
books about robots in the wild,
golden hour light
on the South Shore
of Nova Scotia,
writing in cafes,
every single dog on the planet,
and my lovely partner DP.
(It’s worth saying here
that loving is easy
when you know how
to be kind to yourself.)

FROM
Canadian by passport and by heart,
I’ve lived in six countries
on four continents:
Canada
Colombia
Mexico
Spain
Thailand
and then eleven years
in Japan,
as much my home
as Canada.
I wonder if borders
aren’t breaking
our hearts.

WRITING
I’ve always been a writer.
My first novel
The 38 Impossible Loves of Naoko Nishizawa
took nine years to write
and was published in my fifties.
Takeaway: The books we love
were published by authors
who refused to give up.

COACHING
You’re not broken,
dear one.
I believe in your ability
to accept what is,
grieve what’s gone,
notice what wants to love you,
shed your old skin,
and transform.
It’s what makes you magical
and also human.

LEARN WITH ME
I believe that creative acts
make us healthier and happier
so I offer courses
that help you embrace
your creativity
and claim your
glorious
inner teenager.

WELCOME!
I’m so happy you’re here.