MERILYN SIMONDS, WOMAN WATCHING
Not many people have heard of Louise de Kiriline Lawrence, but fortunately Merilyn Simonds is shining a light on her compelling life story through her book, Woman, Watching.
De Kiriline Lawrence was born into Swedish aristocracy, only to abandoned her privileged life after her husband was murdered by Bolsheviks. Fleeing Russia she migrated to Canada where she joined the Red Cross in northern Ontario, visiting her patients by dogsled.
When Elzire Dionne gave birth to five babies, Louise became nurse to the Dionne Quintuplets. Repulsed by the intense media attention, Lawrence retreated to her wilderness cabin, where she devoted herself to studying the birds that nested in her forest. The success of her studies led her to become an internationally renowned naturalist, one of the first to track the mid-century decline of songbirds. Referred to as a Canadian Rachel Carson, Lawrence and her “loghouse nest” became a magnet for international ornithologists.
Lawrence was an old woman when Merilyn Simonds moved into the woods not far away. Their paths crossed, sparking Simonds’s lifelong interest in this remarkable woman.
A dedicated birder, Simonds brings her own songbird experiences from Canadian nesting grounds and Mexican wintering grounds to this engaging portrait of a uniquely fascinating woman.
MERILYN SIMONDS is as remarkable a woman as her subject in Woman, Watching. She is the author of 20 books, including the novel The Holding, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and the Canadian classic nonfiction novel, The Convict Lover, a finalist for the Governor General’s Award. With her husband, Wayne Grady, she wrote the travel memoir Breakfast at the Exit Café, with was selected a Globe 100 best book of 2010. Joseph Boyden called it “a brilliant road trip I never wanted to end.”
Her most recent novel is Refuge, a story of sanctuary set in eastern Ontario, New York, and Mexico City. She is currently working on a novel set during the Zapatista war in Mexico and a book of personal essays called Still Life with Beth.
Merilyn is an advocate for writers and readers, having served as the Chair of The Writers’ Union of Canada and serving as a founding member of the Kingston WritersFest, where some 10,000 readers meet writers every year.
Merilyn and Wayne divide their time between Kingston, Ontario, Canada and San Miguel de Allende. They hold positions on the Board of Directors of the Pelee Island Bird Observatory in Ontario and together they developed the Prismáticos Project, launched in 2021 to bring binoculars to Mexican schools and conservationists.
what we believe
Sociedad Audubon de México AC is based in San Miguel de Allende, a beautiful colonial town in the mountains of central Mexico.
Through birds and their habitats we seek to connect people with nature and encourage the stewardship of the natural world for the countless ways it supports and enriches our lives, and for the sake of nature itself.
“Tug on anything at all and you’ll find it connected
to everything else in the universe.”
— John Muir
our vision
Our vision is to be an effective advocate for the protection and appreciation of the elements of nature in the San Miguel de Allende area and a leader in the pursuit of a sustainable and just society.
Our Mission
Sociedad Audubon de México recognizes that a healthy environment is critical to the survival of all living beings. Through education, conservation, and recreation we promote environmental stewardship to ensure the welfare of all life in San Miguel de Allende – for today and as a legacy to the generations to come.
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