Brenda Peddigrew was born in pre-Confederation Newfoundland and remembers many of the changes that occurred as a result of Newfoundland's entry as the tenth province of Canada. She has followed education herself, being a high-school teacher for nine years before achieving a Master's degree in Theology in St. Louis, MO, followed a few years later with a Ph.D. in Transformative Learning, which enabled her to lead/facilitate in many parts of the world, including Ireland, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Australia, Nicaragua, thirty-two states and all provinces of Canada more than once! For the last twenty-three years Brenda has lived and worked from "SoulWinds," the forest property she shares with longtime companion Dr. Joan Weir. N.D., visiting her home province, Newfoundland, two to three times a year, staying connected to her Peddigrew family and Mercy community there. Brenda continues to write and publish books of poetry and essays, inspired and supported by the forest and river on which she lives, by Joan Weir, and their dog Mahti and cat MaCushla, both in a long line of previous pets.This memoir was written particularly for the members of her family who will follow beyond her, especially Kathy and Paul Grandy and their sons Benjamin and Michael Grandy, and Ken and Tammy Peddigrew and their children Matthew and Katie. It is also for those historians who will someday discover the Sisters of Mercy (NL) in their amazing contribution to education and health care from the early history of our province, and now fading in numbers and ability to continue such contributions.
