CNFC Members’ Readings

The Creative Nonfiction Collective (CNFC) hosted Members' Readings this month and  I was excited to participate. So much of our time as writers is spent alone, typing or writing words that are hard-fought to get out of our brains and onto the page/screen, then revised and polished multiple times. The opportunity to share my published work with fellow writers who know how difficult it is to publish an essay is gratifying and heartwarming. There's also the additional joy and delight of listening to the words of my fellow readers who shared their work. What a wonderful way to connect [...]

By |2025-02-09T22:49:45+00:00December 15th, 2024|CNFC, Publication, Survivor, Writer|0 Comments
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805 Lit + Art essay: Talisman

“One time, I found what I thought was a silver dollar until I picked it up. It was thin and aluminum, and what it most resembled was an encircled five-starred sheriff’s badge. One side displayed a crown. The flip side revealed a horseshoe surrounded by the words GOOD LUCK. According to Google, these types of tokens were used in vending machines or parking lots in the eighties. Despite my best efforts, I never figured out where this one originated, but it’s been in my wallet for thirty years. Now silvery-white and polished smooth, it’s cool to the touch. Yet, [...]

By |2025-02-09T21:50:54+00:00September 27th, 2024|Publication, Survivor, Writer|0 Comments
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Summer slowdown

I seldom give myself permission to slow down, but the combination of a cottage getaway, good book and too-hot-to-move weather shaped a very relaxing week. Reading Abraham Verghese’s Covenant of Water at water’s edge seemed very meta. Propulsive storytelling and gorgeous writing ensure this book will linger in my mind. Early morning walks to beat the heat and consistently fiery sunsets framed languorous days. Perfect for sighting a gaggle of geese, pair of loons, fast-moving turtle, porcupine!?! (not sure who was more scared) and a magnificent bald eagle. Once again, nature restores and [...]

By |2024-08-27T22:03:13+00:00July 31st, 2024|Publication, Survivor, Writer|0 Comments
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The Examined Life Journal essay: Endangered

Excerpt from my essay "Endangered" published in the Examined Life Journal, Volume 11 (2024) "We fly to Florida in early January, fleeing Canada’s snow and ice. Two days later, my partner in life and travel sits beside me on the outdoor patio of Mulligan’s Beach House overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Azure-blue sky borders the saltwater, which sunlight refracts and resolves into multi-layered shades of turquoise. At the horizon, a delicate ribbon of periwinkle haze shimmers. Maybe it’s an ordinary day for most people here. But for me, it’s a joyful re-awakening, as if I’m meeting myself again after a [...]

By |2024-02-24T21:09:51+00:00February 24th, 2024|Covid-19, Publication, Survivor, Writer|0 Comments
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A Return to Writing

One of the great joys for me this year was a return to focusing on my own writing. Like many others,  the pandemic played havoc with my sense of time and connection these past three years. Fortunately, my involvement with the CNFC board helped me maintain my sanity and links to the Canadian writing community. That's not to say my words were unread during that time. After winning the 2020 Penguin Random House Canada MFA Prize for best nonfiction book proposal, I completed my memoir in 2021, and it went out on submission via my wonderful agent. If only [...]

By |2024-01-03T18:39:10+00:00December 20th, 2023|Publication, School, Writer|0 Comments
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Canadian Blood Services Profile

Still thankful 33 years after transplant, Toronto woman now helps others. "During my time in hospital, I received 157 units of blood,” she says. “Each unit represented a blood donation from someone I didn’t know. Those transfusions kept me alive during treatment, so supporting the work of Canadian Blood Services to facilitate blood and stem cell donations across Canada is a no-brainer." Thanks to Canadian Blood Services for helping me celebrate the 33-year anniversary of the bone marrow transplant that cured my leukemia and saved my life. The procedure was a last-ditch Hail Mary play after all other treatment [...]

By |2023-10-15T21:38:00+00:00May 22nd, 2021|cycling, fundraising, Publication, Survivor, Volunteering, Writer|0 Comments
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The Globe and Mail: Organ donation op-ed

Skip the mall this Christmas. Your organ-donation consent is the best gift you can give   'Tis the season for gift shopping. That time of year when we flock online, a Pavlovian response to slick advertising. We search shopping malls and stalk special one-day-only sale racks, spending hours seeking the perfect gift. But what if we didn’t have to search? What if we already carried the perfect gift within us? Less than one-quarter of Canadians have registered to donate organs, but 90 per cent of Canadians say they support organ donation. Presumed consent is a potential solution to increase donors, [...]

By |2023-10-15T21:38:28+00:00May 10th, 2021|Publication, School, Survivor, Writer|0 Comments
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National Post Excerpt: I became a human chimera

How my sister's cells attacked my body, and changed my life. "It would be another 25 years before I learned about blood tissue, cells, genes and DNA. Before I would understand that I’d become a sort of human chimera. Like the fire-breathing creature from Greek mythology — with a lion’s head, a goat’s body and a serpent’s tail — my body was no longer just my own. I was host to my sister and myself." I knew it was a medical Hail Mary play — a first-of-its-kind procedure in Canada, with an eight per cent chance of success. It was 1988 [...]

By |2023-10-15T21:40:26+00:00July 10th, 2020|cycling, Publication, Survivor, Writer|0 Comments
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Winner: 2020 Penguin Random House MFA Prize

I am honoured to be the winner of the 2020 Penguin Random House MFA Prize for best nonfiction book proposal. "Margaret Lynch, who graduated in May from the University of King’s College with her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction degree, is the winner of the 2020 Penguin Random House Best Nonfiction Book Proposal Prize. Lynch, a Toronto-based storyteller who writes about people, places, and plights, won for her proposal for Transformed: When My DNA Changed, So Did I, her memoir of her journey to “become a better person” after a rare leukemia invaded her body when she was just [...]

By |2023-10-15T21:40:56+00:00June 26th, 2020|MFA, Publication, School, Survivor, Writer|0 Comments
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CMAJ Blog Post

Déjà Vu in the Time of Covid-19 One Monday morning not long ago, I attended my yoga class. We stretched and twisted, breathed and meditated amidst a soundtrack of calming music and the instructor’s soothing voice. It was late January 2020, when we still took for granted our ability to move freely in and around the world. Afterwards, I chatted with another yogini. Standing close together, we discussed the first reported Canadian case of COVID-19. The National Microbiology Laboratory had confirmed the presumptive case two days earlier. We were concerned, but we agreed the problem could be easily contained. [...]

By |2023-10-15T21:41:33+00:00April 24th, 2020|Covid-19, Publication, Survivor, Writer|0 Comments
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