About Holly
A life shaped by love, adventure, and the stories we carry
A Little About Me
When I throw away the labels—mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend, pet owner, nature lover, business owner, life coach, artist, and now author—I’m not sure who I am. But I’ll do my best to explain…
For 37 years, I worked as a physiotherapist, a career I absolutely loved. I had the opportunity to travel with Canada’s national athletes and help thousands of people recover from injuries, surgery, and illness. Patients often commented that I looked like I was having fun. They were right. It never felt like a job.
When I closed my practice in October 2018, I had mixed emotions. I was sad to say goodbye to my patients, but I was also ready to see what the next chapter of my life would bring.
Life’s Unexpected Turns
Like most people, I’ve experienced my share of difficult times. I’ve lost people I loved, faced financial hardship, and spent eight years caring for my husband, Dave, as he lived with frontotemporal dementia and ALS.
In the past, I often dealt with painful experiences by keeping busy and trying to outrun my feelings. But caring for Dave changed that. Eventually, I had to learn to sit with the sadness, accept what I couldn’t change, and forgive myself when I felt I hadn’t done enough.
Those experiences taught me a great deal about myself and continue to influence how I approach life and my work with others. I continue to offer life coaching on a smaller scale, particularly for people dealing with loss and significant life changes.
A Life Close to Nature
Today, I live in the beautiful Shuswap region of British Columbia, where I enjoy hiking, cycling, snowshoeing, birdwatching, and spending time outdoors.
Nature has always been an important part of my life, and it’s also where I find much of my inspiration for creating wildlife art.
Inspired by Nature
My love of nature also finds its way into my artwork. I enjoy capturing the beauty and character of wildlife through drawing and painting.
Creating art gives me another opportunity to slow down, notice the details, and appreciate the natural world around me.
A Creative Journey
Memory Albums
I continue to make handmade memory albums, something I began while caring for Dave. What started as a way to help him remember our life together, has become a creative passion that I enjoy sharing with other families.
Goodbye Gentle Giant
Writing Goodbye Gentle Giant was another unexpected direction my life took. I never imagined I’d write a memoir, but after rereading some of my journal entries, I knew I needed more closure on my grief of losing Dave. I also wanted to honour him and how he lived his life to the end with such grace and acceptance.
I remembered how lonely and isolating caregiving could be, and how desperately I wanted to know that I would be okay when it was over. I hoped that by sharing my experiences, other caregivers might feel less alone and find hope that there could still be joy in their lives, both during caregiving and afterwards.
Finally, I wanted to leave a legacy for my children. I wanted them to remember their dad, the life we shared as a family, and the lessons he taught all of us along the way.
He was a beautiful and remarkable human being.
