About
Multi-published inspirational author and public speaker, Barbara Dickson started her career in the IT industry, working eleven years as a software analyst. Her logic and math skills, along with her creativity, helped her design and develop software applications for the mid-range computer market. She trained as a corporate educator and taught a course on defect prevention to myriad levels of management.
Barbara was diagnosed with relapse-remitting multiple sclerosis in 1992. Her test results also revealed what the medical community calls a remarkable finding—an inoperable substantial pineal cyst buried at the base of her brain.
She continued to work part-time until the birth of her third child and the death of her mother in 1995. She then retired to concentrate on her health and raising her children. Always hard-driven and not willing to succumb to the ravages of multiple sclerosis without a fight, she made a conscious decision to face her future head-on, not fearing the potential disability of MS, nor dwelling on an uncertain future. She re-discovered her love of writing and speaking after many months of prayerful contemplation.
She began writing magazine articles as well as short stories in 1996. With nearly 50 articles to her credit, and looking for a new challenge, she turned her attention to fiction and has written several romance novels. As a motivational speaker, she has been invited to speak about her life’s journey in clinging to hope in the face of adversity to many organizations including The Salvation Army, the MS Society of Canada and the United Church of Canada.
Barbara’s magazine articles have appeared around the world, as far away as South Africa and California. One of her short stories, Edward’s Rocks, appears in a high school English textbook, Inside Stories II. She humbly shares the pages with authors such as Isaac Asimov and Margaret Laurence.
A city girl, Barbara was born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario and continues to reside there, with her husband and blended family of five children. When she finds time and is feeling well, she enjoys researching her family tree, watching old black and white movies, and camping and canoeing in the Great White North.
Barbara hopes her readers find warmth, inspiration, and hope in the pages of her stories.
What drives her? Other than not giving up without a whole lot of kicking and screaming, she simply longs to touch the world—one heart at a time.
Motivational Speaking
Barbara is also a Motivational Speaker and is available for speaking engagements.
For more information, please see Barb Speaks!
