89-year-old Fredericton woman publishes book about living in a nursing home

In Studio 127, Mary Ryan is awake by 8 a.m. and at her computer ready to work each morning. 

The studio, accented with pens, sticky notes and her computer, doubles as Ryan's long-term care room — No. 127, but she prefers to call it Studio 127 — at Fredericton's Thomas Hall.

It was in this studio that the 89-year-old wrote her second book, which tells the story of moving into and living in a nursing home.

Ryan said the credit for the recently published book goes to her neighbour in the nursing home.

"Last Christmas, she gave me the most beautiful assortment of notebooks ... and pens," said Ryan. "And she said, 'This is for you to write your next book.'

"But at that time, I wasn't thinking of any book. It started out as little personal notes to myself about what I needed to adapt to."

As she wrote these notes to herself, Ryan brought them to the home's recreation co-ordinator, Caroline, using them to explain what she needed as a resident.

But together, the two realized that there must be other people in Ryan's position — thrust from familiarity into unfamiliarity — who may need some guidance, which prompted her to write a book.

The book, Wading Into Life's Changing Tides, details Ryan's experience moving from a hospital bed into a nursing home bed and what she has experienced since then. 

"The hardest part is being vulnerable, being helpless [and] being homeless," said Ryan of her experience.

Sister, teacher and activist

Ryan has always lived a fulfilling life. 

At 19, she joined a convent, where she taught as a Sister of Charity for many years. When she left because of health challenges, she started teaching in Oromocto in 1966 before getting an offer to teach Grade 1 at Priestman Street School in Fredericton.

It was there that her impact on the community was set in motion. When staying after school one day to unpack some of her boxes, she was told the Canada Studies Foundation was looking for teachers to help bring Canadian identity into the curriculum.

"The idea was that I was going to introduce the children to people in our local community of various cultures, races and religions, and oh my, did that ever set my soul to dreaming."

She started by bringing in then-chief Harold Sappier of St. Mary's First Nation to the classroom. 

Ryan also organized a field trip where her students travelled to École Sainte-Anne and sat in for a lesson in French. Then, the students from École Sainte-Anne came to Priestman Street where they all learned the same lesson, but in English.

"It was very difficult in the school system, because this had never been done before and I had no plan given to me as to how to proceed," said Ryan. "So I had to proceed with my own intuition as to what the children needed." 

She said she wanted the children to learn to unlearn when new facts were given to them.

Ryan also made other strides in the community, co-founding the Fredericton Multicultural Society and hosting the first multicultural ball for the community.

Her teaching experience was outlined in her first book, Flying with Peek-a-Boo Multi-Colored Feathers.

Ryan said it isn't that she necessarily gets joy from writing, but rather that she feels compelled to do it to "light the light that's within people."

Her joy, she said, comes from the employees of the home, her husband Jim who comes every morning rain or shine, and her son, Jamie. 

With her newest book, Ryan said she hopes people can learn that the status quo isn't always right, and that residents could be the "missing link" in trying to improve the current system.

She thinks residents should work with administrators to affirm their concerns but also share their experience as residents. 

Ryan will have a meet and greet and sign some of her books on March 1 at the nursing home, but in the meantime, she continues to write her next book, which will further her thoughts on living in a long-term care home.

And when asked what Ryan learned since moving into Studio 127, she chose not to answer.

"I'd like to leave that open because I'm still learning," she said.