The Astounding Lini Grol

Yesterday I visited writer and artist Lini Grol at her home in Brampton, Ontario. It was an honour and a pleasure. We spent over an hour discussing her life experiences and her work, which are intertwined. As a young woman, she was a nurse in Holland. She survived a harrowing experience during the Second World War when a hospital she was working in in Rotterdam was bombed. She helped pull people to safety.

Lini Grol

A sampling of some of Lini's books.

Lini is a published writer. She has written extensively about the liberation of Holland during World War Two. After moving to the Niagara region of Canada, Lini wrote for a local newspaper and also wrote books about Fonthill and Pelham. She is also a poet and has had her poetry published in numerous publications.
Lini is currently working on another novel. Did I mention that she will be 96 in October?

One of Lini's sculptures on display in her home.

A painting by Lini hangs in her home.

Lini nursed in Holland, South Africa, and Canada, before turning her attention to art and writing full time. Children, mothers, and nursing inform much of her work. Lini has been a prolific writier. She says that not having children of her own to raise has made it easier for her to write as much as has. I still think that her accomplishments are remarkable.

One of Lini's numerous scissor silhouettes on display in her home.

Halloween in reflection.

Lini was friendly, humble, and gracious and she gave me a card and a book of her poetry which I will treasure forever. I am going to go back throughout the fall to record our conversations and I will begin writing an article (or perhaps something bigger) about her incredible life. If I hadn't come across those framed cards of her work at that yard sale in St. Catharines a few weeks ago, I would never have met her. Talk about inspiring.