A Saskatchewan girl, Jill Martin grew up far from any life altering bridges, but by some bizarre twist of fate, bridges defined her view of the world. The mental illness, known as gephyrophobia, could leave her blubbering incoherently or blacking out in full panic attack on swinging bridges, log bridges, cantilever bridges, or suspension bridges. Whatever troubled waters her life-bridge straddled– no matter how terrifying the crossing – she has learned to trust the safety waiting on the opposite shore. Told with a saucy blend of realism tempered with bald-faced humour, she gives you full permission to laugh out loud, weep, or even curse. She hopes her story will help others defeat their own bridge devils.

Jill Martin is the author of Return to Sable (2015). Sable Island in Black and White, a pictorial book of life on Sable Island at the turn of the 20th century (Nimbus 2016), was the winner of the 2017 Atlantic Book Democracy award for non—fiction. For many years, an educator on Nova Scotia's South Shore, she served as the last principal of Lunenburg Academy. Murder in the Fourth: A Case of Mindslaughter, her first co—authored fiction book, was released in 2018. From Thistles to Cowpies, (Crossfield 2021), picking up where Return to Sable left off, traces the journey of early twentieth century homesteaders to Saskatchewan. Lovingly referred to as her Covid project, Jill's latest book The Fourth Sibling (2022), tells the story of Jill's cousin's escape from an abusive partner. Raw, but redemptive, the work gives voice to those whose voice is often strangled by the person who should be their greatest advocate. When she is not writing, Jill serves on two boards: The Friends of Sable Island and Lunenburg Academy Foundation.

Jill Martin Bouteillier's profile page