About

Monique’s Story

Born in Northwestern Ontario, the tenth of fourteen children, Monique attended the University of Western Ontario and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1984. She arrived in Muskoka with her husband and their two small children in 1996. 

A retired Business Analyst, Monique has over 20 years of varied experience in healthcare in the province of Ontario. Her primary sector was in Community Care (both local and Provincial) as well as Hospitals (both clinical and back office). In addition to her facilitative corporate roles, a personal interest in teaching others led her to achieve accreditations in additional courses:  The Adult Learner and The Role of the Adult Educator from Canadore College through Contact North, and in 2003, The Sociology of Education from Nipissing University (Muskoka Campus).  

Since 2013, her investigations into the art of storytelling and writing as a personal wellness journey have been assisted by many writers’ workshops in Muskoka, Haliburton and Kawartha Lakes.  She has also completed many on-line writing opportunities, including most recently the “Sense Writing” course by Madeline Kent, as well as the “Fostering True Creativity” workshop by Albert Flynn DeSilver; “Writing Your Way Home: Answering the Soul’s Call” workshop by Jeff Brown; and, “Story Is A State of Mind” and “The Story Intensive” from the Sarah Selecky Writing School. 

Monique is a member of the Muskoka Authors Association and the Haliburton Highlands Writers’ and Editors’ Network. She continues to write and occasionally submit to contests, although her creative work is now centered around facilitating writing workshops and coaching at Write for Wellness.

Monique has written short stories for two personal blogs:

• “Little Monik Stories” https://littlemonikstories.blogspot.com/  was her first blog which documented her memories of growing up a middle child in a large family in the 1960’s and 70’s in rural Northwestern Ontario. She wrote regularly in 2013, and continued into 2016.
• “Muskoka River Rat 2016” https://muskokariverrat.blogspot.com/ was her second blog, documenting her preparations for (and reflections on) a solo 80 km “sprint” canoe race in 2016.

She won an honourable mention in the 2015 Melody Richardson writing contest for “With Gratitude”, written after the passing of a friend.

She has also written three self-published books: “Tea With Martha” for her mother in 2016, “She Who Melts the Ice” for her first granddaughter in 2018, and “You’re Getting So Big” for her second granddaughter in 2021.

One of her poems, “Oh If I Had Seen Her Go”, was published in the Muskoka Seniors Magazine in 2017.  The poem was written in honour of her mother who passed away in her 89th year.

In 2021, Monique created the “Seeds: Growing Connection Through Writing” Journal. This is a NEW kind of journal, for non-writers or writers alike, which encourages connection to nature and guides the writer to look to nature for writing prompts. A copy of this journal is included with each paid workshop or retreat registration. It is available to be purchased at this link: Seeds: Growing Connection Through Writing: Charlton, Monique: 9781778003905: Books – Amazon.ca What people are saying about the “Seeds” journal: “It has writing prompts that thoughtfully invoke the cycles and seasons of the natural world, gently aligning the writer’s practice with the pattern and energy of their environment.”