Who Am I? |

I grew up in Lachine, a suburb of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, a short bike ride away from the glistening shores of Lake Saint Louis. It felt like a crossroads of humanity - from my bed at night I could hear the ships' horns as they traversed the St. Lawrence Seaway, the planes as they departed from what is now called the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport in Dorval, and the trains as they brought commuters home from Montreal. The lights from Place Ville Marie shone through my bedroom window at night, and I would pretend these were angels who protected me whilst I slept. There was much to explore in the wooded areas nearby and the rocks along the shore, and I always wanted to know more - what were these creatures? Why were they there?

The Journey Begins
After graduating from Lachine High School, I attended Carleton University in Ottawa, majoring in History and Religion. My original plan was to take journalism, but I soon found out that journalism entailed much more than writing, and writing was all I wanted to do. However, when told by my professor in a Creative Writing course that I would I never write anything worth reading and was wasting his time by taking his class, I decided to turn to what would ultimately become my first love; that of researching. I was enthralled with history, loved Elizabethan England, and wanted to know why it was that religion had played such a monumental role in the history of our planet.
Strangely enough, my History Major found me my first job at the Bank of Nova Scotia, as the man who hired me also held a degree in History and believed that all history majors could write decently - something sadly lacking in the business world at that time. So I started as a Management Trainee and worked my way up through junior levels of the bank. It was all somewhat boring until I was offered a position as an Analyst at Cash Management Services. Although still dealing with numbers, it was the first time I was doing anything like research, and I loved it.
Doing What I Loved
When I moved to Edmonton to be with Eric, my future husband, I finally found a job with the right title - Research Officer for the Government of Alberta. Here I produced statistical information and wrote briefing papers for the premier. Imagine spending your days just writing computer code, researching your topic, writing about it, and getting paid to do it! Bliss!
It was while I was working in the Department of Intergovernmental Affairs in Edmonton, that my friend, Claire Gerus, approached me and asked me to write a Question and Answer Book on angels. She was the editor of a publishing company in Baltimore and they were looking for an angel book. All the angel writers were busy at the time, and Claire felt that not only could I write, I had also explored the realm of angels from both a religious and spiritual standpoint. I started in and over the next few months I wrote my first book finishing just before my husband and I moved to southern Ontario and welcomed the birth of our son, Jerred.
After graduating from Lachine High School, I attended Carleton University in Ottawa, majoring in History and Religion. My original plan was to take journalism, but I soon found out that journalism entailed much more than writing, and writing was all I wanted to do. However, when told by my professor in a Creative Writing course that I would I never write anything worth reading and was wasting his time by taking his class, I decided to turn to what would ultimately become my first love; that of researching. I was enthralled with history, loved Elizabethan England, and wanted to know why it was that religion had played such a monumental role in the history of our planet.
Strangely enough, my History Major found me my first job at the Bank of Nova Scotia, as the man who hired me also held a degree in History and believed that all history majors could write decently - something sadly lacking in the business world at that time. So I started as a Management Trainee and worked my way up through junior levels of the bank. It was all somewhat boring until I was offered a position as an Analyst at Cash Management Services. Although still dealing with numbers, it was the first time I was doing anything like research, and I loved it.
Doing What I Loved
When I moved to Edmonton to be with Eric, my future husband, I finally found a job with the right title - Research Officer for the Government of Alberta. Here I produced statistical information and wrote briefing papers for the premier. Imagine spending your days just writing computer code, researching your topic, writing about it, and getting paid to do it! Bliss!
It was while I was working in the Department of Intergovernmental Affairs in Edmonton, that my friend, Claire Gerus, approached me and asked me to write a Question and Answer Book on angels. She was the editor of a publishing company in Baltimore and they were looking for an angel book. All the angel writers were busy at the time, and Claire felt that not only could I write, I had also explored the realm of angels from both a religious and spiritual standpoint. I started in and over the next few months I wrote my first book finishing just before my husband and I moved to southern Ontario and welcomed the birth of our son, Jerred.

The Book of Angels, All Your Questions Answered, sold so well that the publisher wanted another book, this time on saints, and thus Martyrs & Miracles, The Inspiring Lives of Saints and Martyrs, was published soon afterwards. It was revised for Regina Press under the name The Saints; Their Inspiring Lives and Fascinating Facts. Life did move on, though. The publisher declared bankruptcy, my books published but in limbo for me, and I now had a new project - raising a family and establishing a new business for my husband. There was little time for researching - and writing.
Roadblock
In the summer of 2007, I can remember feeling on top of the world. Throughout my life I had experienced a series of illnesses, most of which the doctors had passed off as "being all in my head". To be well, to have energy, was delightful and I relished each and every day. There were however some niggling sensations: a strange pricking sensation in my chest, my feet were always sore and I hardly seemed to need any sleep - I decided to ignore these little signposts and continue on. By late autumn I could no longer disregard them; my left hand and arm were now numb and useless.
I made it through the Christmas holidays, but wondered how I was going to manage to keep up my commitments. The numbness and tingling had extended from both hands and arms, to my legs and feet, behind the eyes and around the mouth. My speech was slurred and I was unable to focus on much of anything. At night it felt as if icy hand-like tendrils were roaming through my body. My limbs took on a life of their own, jerking or twitching involuntarily. I would be up several times in the night with severe diarrhoea and would lie awake afterwards waiting for the inevitable panic attack. Fear possessed me and I prayed for the night to be over.
Roadblock
In the summer of 2007, I can remember feeling on top of the world. Throughout my life I had experienced a series of illnesses, most of which the doctors had passed off as "being all in my head". To be well, to have energy, was delightful and I relished each and every day. There were however some niggling sensations: a strange pricking sensation in my chest, my feet were always sore and I hardly seemed to need any sleep - I decided to ignore these little signposts and continue on. By late autumn I could no longer disregard them; my left hand and arm were now numb and useless.
I made it through the Christmas holidays, but wondered how I was going to manage to keep up my commitments. The numbness and tingling had extended from both hands and arms, to my legs and feet, behind the eyes and around the mouth. My speech was slurred and I was unable to focus on much of anything. At night it felt as if icy hand-like tendrils were roaming through my body. My limbs took on a life of their own, jerking or twitching involuntarily. I would be up several times in the night with severe diarrhoea and would lie awake afterwards waiting for the inevitable panic attack. Fear possessed me and I prayed for the night to be over.

Where I Am Today
For over a year I shuffled between medical experts and alternative healers. It was only when I took matters into my own hands, when I started researching in ernest, that I began to see a light at the end of the tunnel. My explorations took me in many directions, including exploring my spiritual self. I did some amazing journey work and became friends with Carina Bachman, a gifted healer in Park City, Utah. Eventually I came to realize what a blessing my illness had been, introducing me to people I would have otherwise never met, and so profoundly changing my outlook on life, that I sometimes find it hard to comprehend my old self. I now conserve my energy, watch what I eat and look to activities that feed my soul, including that of researching and writing once again. I've started a column that I call The Spiritual Word, and I've been studying Sacred Geometry, a discipline that combines my love of drafting with meditative colouring.
And this is where I am today. Truly a changed person, but still one with the inquiring mind and the burning desire to understand "Why?" I look forward to sharing with you the many questions that not only I have, but yours too, and the answers that I have found.
Namaste
Carolyn
For over a year I shuffled between medical experts and alternative healers. It was only when I took matters into my own hands, when I started researching in ernest, that I began to see a light at the end of the tunnel. My explorations took me in many directions, including exploring my spiritual self. I did some amazing journey work and became friends with Carina Bachman, a gifted healer in Park City, Utah. Eventually I came to realize what a blessing my illness had been, introducing me to people I would have otherwise never met, and so profoundly changing my outlook on life, that I sometimes find it hard to comprehend my old self. I now conserve my energy, watch what I eat and look to activities that feed my soul, including that of researching and writing once again. I've started a column that I call The Spiritual Word, and I've been studying Sacred Geometry, a discipline that combines my love of drafting with meditative colouring.
And this is where I am today. Truly a changed person, but still one with the inquiring mind and the burning desire to understand "Why?" I look forward to sharing with you the many questions that not only I have, but yours too, and the answers that I have found.
Namaste
Carolyn

Carolyn was born in Lachine, Quebec, Canada and attended Carleton University in Ottawa, majoring in History and Religion. From her work as a Research Officer for the Government of Alberta, as an Analyst in the financial industry, and as the manager of the business she co-owns with her husband, she has acquired a keen interest in research and enjoys finding gems of interesting information to pass on.
Her first book, The Book of Angels, All Your Questions Answered, sold over 100,000 copies and Martyrs & Miracles, The Inspiring Lives of Saints and Martyrs, has also sold in the thousands. She has also written community articles for her local newspaper, The Hamilton Spectator. Carolyn is a member of the Author’s Guild in the United States and a professional member of the Canadian Authors’ Association.
Carolyn is currently living in Hamilton, Ontario, with her husband, Eric, their son, Jerred, and their Shetland Sheepdog, Toonie.
Her first book, The Book of Angels, All Your Questions Answered, sold over 100,000 copies and Martyrs & Miracles, The Inspiring Lives of Saints and Martyrs, has also sold in the thousands. She has also written community articles for her local newspaper, The Hamilton Spectator. Carolyn is a member of the Author’s Guild in the United States and a professional member of the Canadian Authors’ Association.
Carolyn is currently living in Hamilton, Ontario, with her husband, Eric, their son, Jerred, and their Shetland Sheepdog, Toonie.