On Mockingbird Hill

“On Mockingbird Hill is a book about finding oneself, but it’s also about the ways in which that search differs for women and men […] overall the powerful narrative keeps the reader engaged. Yes, Kelly acknowledges, the mythos of the fire lookout in self-imposed exile is compelling, but even when we retreat from the world, we bring our emotional baggage with us.” – Jenna Butler, Alberta Views

Mary Theresa Kelly grew up in a large Toronto based family. As a young woman, she journeyed west and became mesmerized by the Rocky Mountains in southern Alberta. Since then, she has made many regions of western Canada home: Calgary, Grande Prairie and the Peace country, the Okanagan Valley, and East Vancouver. She currently resides in the north Okanagan. In 1999, she completed a masters degree in communication studies at the University of Calgary and now works as a consultant for leading health researchers in Canada. In the same way her life has criss-crossed rural and urban places, she writes across literary nonfiction, academic social sciences, and performance reviews. Her work has appeared in diverse publications from Event to The Journal of Integral Theory & Practice to The Dance Current. In addition to a writing practice, she maintains a meditation and yoga practice, plays piano, and grows organic kale and cilantro. On Mockingbird Hill is her first book.