I remember the intersection, the grill of the other car speeding toward me, the honking, the sudden fear in my throat.

I remember the feel of the steering wheel in my hand. I tightened my grip to brace for impact and thought of how unlucky it was to be sitting in the driver’s seat of my compact car, about to be T-boned by a luxury sedan. I was on my way to meet the new corporate cadre, ready to wow them with my plans and big ideas. I was dressed up, hair done, looking in-charge and ready to impress. About to be smooshed.

It's not a myth. Everything does slow down when your potential end is barreling toward you. I thought of myself at twenty-two, teaching dance and choreographing in my apartment/warehouse-turned-studio. I was so determined, and young enough to believe I could do whatever I wanted. I remembered the singular feeling of creating beauty, of flying, of being euphorically alive.

“You are wasting your time!” I heard myself say it before I knew I was talking. “Stop wasting your time!”

Screech. Smash. Spin. Despite being T-boned at 8am on my way to a career-defining meeting, I didn’t have a mark on me. Even my hair was still in place. My car, however, was totalled. The vision of my corporate future was also totalled. I touched my forehead to the steering wheel, closed my eyes, whispered “thank-you” to fill the space around me.

I resigned. I went back to university. I won scholarships and awards. I wrote a book. I found a willing publisher. I moved across the country, alone, to a romantic city where I knew no one and didn’t speak the common language. I launched my first book. I gave lectures to attentive audiences and became part of a literary community. I recreated myself.

I am flying again, no longer wasting any time.

Gina currently lives in Montréal, Canada. She is a widow and mother of one perfect and excellent daughter. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia, and an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of King’s College in Halifax. Gina’s first book, a biography titled Fifteen Thousand Pieces: A Medical Examiner’s Journey Through Disaster, was released in September of 2023 by Guernica Editions, Miroland Imprint. She is currently working on her second book, a memoir based on her CBC-Award-Winning essay exploring her relationship with her older brother and the the small town where she was born.

 Gina is represented by Rob Firing at Transatlantic Agency.

Non-fiction

2023 Fifteen Thousand Pieces: a medical examiner’s journey through disaster; Hamilton, Ontario, Guernica Editions, Miroland Imprint, 2023. Literary nonfiction, paperback, 300 pages

2023 “The Grief that Endures 25 Years After the Swissair Disaster,” The Globe and Mail, Sept 1 edition, Op-Ed

2018 “Your Body is a Lone Tree” In Anthology, F. Tinwei Lam, J. Silcott (Eds), Love Me True: Writers Reflect on the Ins, Outs, Ups & Downs of Marriage (pp 209-212). Qualicum Beach, British Columbia: Caitlin Press, 2018

2011 “My Best Friend” En Route Magazine, (pp 71-73), April 2011 Issue

Libretto:

2022 Green Space: Vancouver, BC; Erato Ensemble; premiered July 11, 2022, at The Annex

2021 The Perils of Pierrot: Vancouver, BC; Erato Ensemble; premiered May 1, 2021, online (due to Covid)

Screen:

2006 “Happy Birth-Daze” (episode 20), The Very Good Adventures of Yam Roll in Happy Kingdom (series), Vancouver, BC; CBC Television, premiered May 4, 2006

Recent Appearances

Jun 2024 Sedgwick Reading Series — University of King’s College, Halifax; readings and Q&A with MFA students and public

Apr 2024, Blue Metropolis — Lies in Literature; panel discussion with Christopher DiRaddo (moderator), Anuja Varghese, and Sky Gilbert

Mar 2024, University of Victoria — The Business of Writing guest lecturer (day one) / Creative Nonfiction guest author, discussion on craft and subject with Deborah Campbell (day two)

Feb 2024 Montreal Lakeshore University Women’s Club— guest speaker, “Starting Over” (Hero Stories)

Nov 2023 Guernica Editions Montréal Mini-Fest — readings with ten authors, Atwater Library

Nov 2023 Read Québec Book Fair — book signing

Aug 2023 Fifteen Thousand Pieces Book Launch Gala, Lord Nelson Hotel, Halifax — readings and panel with Pauline Dakin (moderator), Stephen Kimber, Dr. John Butt, and Ron Jeppesen

Aug 2023 Vickery House Books, reading and Q&A

Recent Media

Feb 2024 Global BC Weekend News Live Interview

Feb 2024 CBC Online with Daphné S-Vieira, “How I Wrote It” Interview

Jan 2024 HOWL/CUIT FM Radio Interview with Hollay Ghadery

Jan 2024 CBC Radio Canada Now Interview with Jeff Sammut

Jan 2024 CBC Montreal Weekend News Live Interview

Jan 2024 Canada Reads American Style Podcast Interview

Dec 2023 Suaga 960AM, Brian Crombie Radio Hour and Podcast Interview

Sep 2023 CTV Halifax Evening News Interview

Sep 2023 Chronicle Herald (Halifax) Interview with John DeMont

Aug 2023 CBC Radio Mainstreet Interview with Jeff Douglas

Aug 2023 Anhyrst Radio Interview