Robert McMechan

Robert McMechan was born in 1952 in the small farming community of Deloraine, Manitoba, Canada. He loved to read as a boy, and had a University of Manitoba Extension Library membership which enabled him to borrow books, which were sent to him by mail. He majored in English for his first undergraduate degree, and subsequently obtained his LL.B. (University of Manitoba), and his LL.M. and Ph.D. in taxation law from Osgoode Hall Law School, York University. In 2011 his wife Allison, a lifelong musician and public school music teacher, was diagnosed with a "giant" brain aneurysm. The aneurysm was "clipped" in a 12 hour operation, and post-surgery Allison had severe cognitive and physical deficits. Over the course of 2 years Allison made a remarkable recovery, and Robert has written her story in "Allison's Brain". Music played a crucial role in Allison's recovery, and she benefited immensely from music therapy.