Mary Shaver

I was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in 1941. I am the second oldest of six girls and our family life was busy and, sometimes, chaotic. When I was two years old, we moved to St. Thomas, Ontario, where my family lived for many years. Being a sensitive girl, I was deeply affected by my Catholic upbringing and, although I was very accomplished, left home to become a nun at the age of 16. At first, I was brainwashed and made to conform to the medieval practices that existed at that time. However, a few years before I left, I began to write poetry and draw and paint. When I left the convent in 1968, after ten years in that institution, my re-entry into society was filled with drama and pitfalls. However, the spark of creativity that was ignited in the convent was able to finally burst into flame after I left. My book "The Naked Nun" is the story of that journey. After "The Naked Nun" was published in 1977, I immediately set about writing a novel called "A Woman Alone". It was published in 1979.

Then, in 1980, I gave birth to my only child and, since I was a single mother, I needed to return to teaching in order to make a living for the two of us. Over the years, I have continued to write poetry and I started to paint again in 2011. You can view my paintings and poetry on www.maryshaver.ca. Life is so precious and beautiful and mine has been an amazing journey so far!