THE JOAN PHIPPS STORY: The Book

co-authored by Joan Phipps and Gaye Burgess

Plans are being made to self-publish through Amazon.com.  Stay tuned for updates on her website and facebook page.

“When I am an Old Horsewoman”

Joan and Bubba, Salt Spring Island. (2012)

When I Am An Old Horsewoman, I shall wear turquoise and diamonds and a straw hat that doesn’t suit me, and I shall spend my social security on white wine and carrots, and sit in the alleyway of my barn and listen to my horses breathe.

Joan, Ocea(her little neighbor), Sheema (her 30-yr-old mare), and Bubba (Mr. Mini Studly).

I will sneak out in the middle of a summer night and ride the old bay gelding across the moonstruck meadow if my old bones will allow. And when people come to call, I will smile and nod as I walk past the gardens to the barn and show instead, the flowers growing inside stalls fresh-lined with straw.

I will shovel and sweat and wear hay in my hair as if it were a jewel. And I will be an embarrassment to ALL who will not yet have found the peace in being free to have a horse as a best friend. A friend who waits at midnight hour with muzzle and nicker and patient eyes for the kind of woman I will be…

When I am old.

       –Author Patty Barnhart

Joan and Moo

Once chapters from our audiobook will be announced and  released,  here on her website for free., we invite you to join our “WINNER’S CIRCLE” and  growing List of supporters.  Be the first out of the starting gate with us to get your free copies!  It takes an army to Launch a book successfully, and the truth is…We can’t do it alone.

BOOK UPDATE

What started out as Gaye writing Joan’s biography changed sometime in 2017.  After much discussion, they’ve decided to move forward co-authoring.

“The more I thought about it,” Gaye said, “the more I realized that people want to hear from Joan not from me. It’s her story; she needs to tell it.”

So with that, we think we can create the best of both worlds –  Joan weaving her story-telling magic as only Joan can, and Gaye taking on the roles of interviewer and narrator – that voice that provides an outside perspective, commentary and weaves the stories together.

The interviewing process – all 40 audiotapes,(interviews with not only Joan but her family and friends such as Karen Hendricks (Chysyk) Joan Duffy, Darren MacIntosh, Leah Woods and Tony McEwen and Liz Anderson),  are now completed by our transcriber, Trish McGuire, (God bless this woman♥) a friend of Gaye’s who spent many years in the film industry in Seattle, Washington. She is also an actor, writer, administrator, and vegan fitness buff who has traveled the world hiking and cycling whenever possible.

A Note from Gaye Burgess…

“This (Joan’s book and film) is what I call my “Heart Project”. I  know I must finish it before I die or die trying at the very least!. It tops my bucket list. I realized last spring that if I didn’t get my butt in gear and retire, I might be dead before it happened. Now that’s a sobering thought.

The truth of the matter is it may look like I’ve been dragging my feet on this venture,for those who have been with us from the very beginning, but I actually haven’t. It’s been so difficult for me to balance working full time at University of North Dakota and work on this project; I couldn’t do it. My job was getting in the way of my heart’s desire, so something had to go. You guessed it. Bu-bye job. Hello Joan!  Joan and I have collaborated on many wonderful projects over the years, but this?  THIS IS IT.  I’ve never been more sure of anything: to know everything in my life has led me to THIS MOMENT… stepping off the cliff into retirement, taking a breath before I begin free falling, selling my home and my belongings, and feeling absolutely fearless because you KNOW without a doubt that you have arrived  at DESTINY’S DOOR.

About our Co-Authors…

Joan and Gaye’s Relationship

Joan and Gaye ~ Toronto, Ontario. (1986) 

CLEAR AS MUD

Joan and I have known each other for a little over thirty years. We met in 1985 and were best friends and partners for 14 of those years (1985-1999). Back on January 1^st, 2000 we had a tumultuous parting of the ways. We both bolted, unable to face the music. She headed to Salt Spring Island and I headed to the United States. Since then much has changed. We managed to work through many personal demons, forgave one another, laughed and cried a lot, reconciled and rebuilt our relationship into what it is today. So…what does that exactly mean?

Do not ask because we don’t know. We only know that as women in our sixties, we call our own shots now and life is a journey without a pre-determined destination. That’s a nice way to say we fly by the seat of our pants every day, humbled and grateful that our story has not ended. The alternative is not good. It involves death.

Since the day I first met Joan, I’ve known what I hope you will discover in the pages of her book: that her life story is remarkable and must be told. It is long overdue. I was absolutely captivated by her and her life. Everyone is. She has that “it” factor, in excess, a term we use in the theatre meaning ‘star quality’. As one of her friends so aptly put it:

Joan is God’s “Earth Angel”:  An angel with shit on her shoes, straw in her hair, a cock-eyed halo,  and a million dollar heart.

In some uncanny way, I feel I have lived every moment of her life with her. I literally have felt her joy and heartache as if it was my own – both a blessing and a curse. If you were to look up the dictionary definition of co-dependent, we’re sure it would say, “see Joan and Gaye.” I personally chalk it up to being an actor for so many years. That was what I was trained to do: empathize and take on the life of another human being. That’s my excuse -and Joan’s? She had an affinity from a very early age with Zorro. She’d fly around the house saving the day with towel flopping behind her as a cape, swashbuckling in true storybook fashion. Whatever our reasons, it is what it is.

The connection we have is remarkable given the fact that I missed her years as a child growing up in Saskatoon, missed her remarkable career as a world-class jockey throughout North and South America, and tentatively stood on the sidelines during her last sixteen years when she was struggling on Salt Spring. If the truth is told, I simply did not possess the courage to walk through that storm. Sorry, Joan. I wouldn’t have survived what she went through, but Joan? She did.   For a while, during her Salt Spring years, we journeyed on alone learning our own lessons in order to return to each other more “whole”.

Fast forward to today.

Joan and Gaye, Salt Spring Island, (2010)

What has miraculously survived is our love. And now this book. We hope it will serve as a testament to the indomitable human spirit that keeps on… keeping on in us all. God has placed us all, including you the reader, in each other’s lives for a reason. We each play our part.  Although our journey is just beginning, both Joan and I know, without Question –

THIS IS IT.

 Having a ‘little’ lunch at the “Tree House Cafe”, in Ganges on the magical island of Salt Spring, BC.

With courage and “Hearts Wide Open,” we welcome you to our ‘Race to the Finish’.