Irene Allison

MEET IRENE   →

... every life tells a story!

Irene's mother was a warrior-healer, a poet and nurse, her father, a bagpiper with a flair for story. And then there was grandma.

Irene's grandma possessed the gift of "second sight" ... and an uncanny power for healing the wounded. First to come for help was a large swan with a broken wing, who knocked at her door with its beak. Then came the women. 

In the small Scottish village where grandma lived, her reputation grew. And one by one the women came. Grandma was always ready with a big black kettle boiling on the coal-fired stove because she understood the magical, healing power of listening to the stories of those who deeply needed to share.

As a little girl, Irene's mother grew up mesmerized by the hiss of that kettle, and a feeling of magic as she witnessed that once the women had shared their stories and a cup of tea, they left with a spring in their step. This, she understood, was the key to healing, a gift she shared widely with the dying and chronically ill through her pioneering work in Palliative Care. 

Irene's father blended his love for musical poetry in ancient Highland piping, with his love of literature and opera and a playful sense of humour.

For young Irene it was fertile ground, nourished by her very first library card at the age of six and its promise of endless reading. 

As Irene made her way throughout the world, she never forgot those invisible seeds planted by her grandma, mother, and father, who blessed her with a never-ending awe of the power and enchantment of story.

Education and Work

Irene, a former technical communicator, author and teacher, practiced for years in France, Italy, the UK, and Canada, and taught in the Writing and Publishing Program at Simon Fraser University, a program from which she also graduated. 

Today Irene writes stories about healing from the heart. She has a Post Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing from  Humber College (Toronto) and has attended both the Arvon Institute (Scotland) and UBC's Booming Ground (Vancouver).

...always come from the heart!

... every story is a journey!

To my dear readers, I'll be sharing recommendations of stories with a heartfelt core and revealing a touch of my writer’s journey along the way. Why not join my Circle?