About

Stephanie Berryman is a Canadian novelist, poet, and nonfiction writer. She grew up on the prairies and lives on the west coast with her husband and two kids. Both landscapes live in her — you will find the wind rippling across golden wheat fields, orcas leaping from the wild oceans, and the towering, moss-covered cedars of the old growth forests in her poetry, her fiction, and her heart.

Stephanie’s life was shaped by her younger brother, Joel, who had severe cerebral palsy. Joel couldn't speak, but he was one of the happiest, most loving and expressive people she has ever known. Writing about Joel’s life and the deep love between them taught her early that the most important stories often live in the margins.

Stephanie’s writing is also influenced by her journey of caring for her mother with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease before her passing in 2008.

Stephanie’s debut novel, What She Left Behind, is upmarket women's fiction exploring the weight of all that women carry, mother-daughter relationships, family secrets and the echoes of choices made under impossible circumstances. She is currently seeking representation.

An adventurer at heart, Stephanie spent her early twenties leading canoe and kayak wilderness expeditions and has lived and taught in South Korea and Australia. She has wandered through Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia — always writing, always paying attention. She has run her own business doing leadership development coaching and consulting for the past fifteen years.

Stephanie is a graduate of SFU's The Writer's Studio and holds a BA in English. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in Grain Magazine, The Ascent, and other publications. She has published a poetry chapbook, This is What Love Tastes Like, and is at work on a memoir, Love Needs No Language, about her brother, Joel. Her nonfiction book Working Well: Twelve Simple Strategies to Manage Stress and Increase Productivity (2019) was an Amazon bestseller.