• Her Name Was Margaret: Life and Death on the Streets

Her Name Was Margaret: Life and Death on the Streets

February 1, 2021 | ISBN 978-1-989496-32-9 | 300 Pages

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Margaret Jacobson was a sweet-natured young girl who played the accordion and had dreams of becoming a teacher until she had a psychotic break in her teens, which sent her down a much darker path. Her Name Was Margaret traces Margaret's life from her childhood to her death as a homeless woman on the streets of Hamilton, Ontario. With meticulous research and deep compassion author Denise Davy analyzed over eight hundred pages of medical records and conducted interviews with Margaret's friends and family, as well as those who worked in psychiatric care, to create this compelling portrait of a woman abandoned by… Read more

Advance Praise

“Read this book. Open your heart to the human beings in front of you surviving, against so many odds, on the streets. As a society, we have erased the history of so many people every time we walk by them without wondering what brought this person to this place. This story will help you find your humanity.” – Clara Hughes, Olympian and author of Open Heart, Open Mind

“Davy tells two stories in this fine book – the riveting, but tragic, story of Margaret and the bigger story about the failure of our social services to care for people with chronic mental illness. Davy helps us understand the point of view of homeless people and increases our empathy and desire to act on their behalf. I recommend this book to all who want to make the world a kinder place." – Mary Pipher, author of Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls

“Being sick with mental illness shouldn’t lead to homelessness and premature death. Let the intimate story of Margaret touch you, make you weep, motivate you to rage against government’s inaction; then inspire you to work for change." – Olivia Chow, former MP, founder of Institute for Change Leaders

    • **Shortlisted for the Sarton Award for Nonfiction**
    • **Winner of the 2022 Hamilton Literary Award for Non-fiction**
    • **Winner of the 2022 Kerry Schooley Book Award**
  • Denise Davy is a nationally recognized award-winning journalist who specializes in writing about mental health, homelessness and gender issues. She worked at the Hamilton Spectator for 26 years and was twice honoured with the Journalist of the Year award by the Ontario Newspaper Association and is a recipient of a National Newspaper Award, several Ontario Newspaper Association awards and two awards from the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario. In 1993, the Canadian Association of Journalists awarded her for co-founding the National Women in the Media conference. She is the recipient of four national journalism fellowships, which allowed her to investigate child prostitution in Thailand, poverty in India and the crisis in children's mental health services in Canada. She is founder of Purses for Margaret, which provides toiletries to homeless women. She lives in Burlington, ON.