March 19, 2007
Kathy was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1953. In 1956, when she was 2 ½ years old, her parents fled the revolution torn country, leaving Kathy in the care of her grandparents. It wasn’t until 7 years later in 1963, that Kathy was able to immigrate to Canada to be reunited with her parents in Toronto. The experience of that first year in Canada is the background for Kathy’s first novel, A Whisper In My Heart.
After graduating from high school in Toronto, Kathy studied Environmental Studies and Philosophy at the University of Waterloo. She took a year off between her first and second year of studies, to get to know Canada from coast to coast. During that year she also traveled to Israel where she lived on a Kibbutz for three months.
While at University, Kathy met Bruce Clark. They were married in 1977. Kathy devoted the next several years to raising their family. Kathy and Bruce have six children, five boys and one girl, a daughter-in-law and a grand-daughter. Over the years they have enjoyed many activities together such as hiking, biking, cross country skiing and learning a variety of crafts. They spend their summers at the family cottage on an island in Georgian Bay where they enjoy the wildlife and natural beauty of Ontario. The family currently has one dog, a rat, a guinea pig, and an aquarium.
In 1994, together with some friends, Kathy started Chilawee Trails Camp for girls. She directed the camp for the next eight years. The camp is currently located in the scenic hills outside of Barry’s Bay Ontario, and runs for two one-week sessions. It accommodates 60 campers and 36 staff each week who participate in fun-filled activities such as canoeing, swimming, crafts, and drama.
Kathy has always been an avid reader. Some of her favourite authors for children and young adults are: Carol Matas, Mildred Taylor, Scott O’Dell, and Orson Scott Card and Cynthia Voigt. It is because she enjoys reading young adult books that she chose to write for that age group.
A Whisper in my Heart is based on Clark’s experience in 1963 as a 10-year- old girl arriving at Pearson International Airport from Budapest to reunite with her parents, who had fled to Canada from Communist-occupied Hungary in 1956. A photographer from the Toronto Daily Star photographed the reunion, and the photo and story appeared on the newspaper’s front page the following day.
To read more about A Whisper in My Heart visit Kathy’s Website: www.kathyclark.ca.
You are invited to join in celebrating the launch of Kathy Clark’s
Guardian Angel House
Based on the true story of two sisters sheltered from the Nazis by a group of Catholic nuns during WWII Susan is skeptical and afraid when she and her little sister, Vera, are sent to a convent to be kept “safe” from the Nazis. But she and Vera soon discover the true nature of courage as the group of nuns who are sheltering them risk their lives to protect them. Inspired by the true story of Kathy Clark’s mother and aunt, who during WWII were sheltered in the Hungarian convent that would become known as “Guardian Angel House” for saving the lives of 120 Jewish children.
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009, 7:00 pm
Library and Archives Canada
395 Wellington Street, Room A, Ottawa
Light refreshments will be served