Looking back: Hideout resident Laura MacGregor writes about The Island Walk
/To celebrate the fifth year anniversary of The Hideout residency program, we caught up with a number of previous Hideout residents to learn more about their writing projects and their advice for those considering a residency at The Hideout.
Hideout resident Laura MacGregor on the shoreline of Prince Edward Island.
Laura MacGregor joined us at The Hideout in 2023 to work on a non-fiction account of her walking journey around Prince Edward Island through The Island Walk.
Tell us a bit about the project you worked on during your week at The Hideout.
In June 2022 I drove from Ontario Prince Edward Island to complete The Island Walk, a month-long, 700km trek. During my time at The Hideout, my writing focused on the first draft of a memoir sharing my story of walking around the Island. Literally.
What did you enjoy most about your residency week?
My residency week at The Hideout offered a rare opportunity not only to write for uninterrupted stretches of time, but to do so in the environment where my story takes place. One day while at The Hideout I was struggling with a passage about walking along the Northern Cape. While poring over photos of my hike from the previous year, it occurred to me that I could drive an hour and be at the Northern Cape. I packed a lunch and spent the afternoon walking and writing at the beach.
Why are residencies and retreats so vital for writers?
Life is busy and writing requires not only time, but for me, emotional separation from the clutter and noise of responsibilities and busy-ness. To be offered a week where my only activities were journaling, writing, reading, and walking was a rare gift.
Any tips for folks thinking about applying for a residency?
I found it helpful to arrive to my residency with realistic writing goals. Rather than planning to simply “write,” my week at The Hideout focused on penning scenes that centred around specific Island locations. But more than anything, I would encourage writers-in-residence to lean into the luxury of an idyllic week of writing amid a peaceful landscape ensconced in a cozy cottage. Really, does it get any better?
Laura MacGregor is a writer, researcher, ethicist, hiker, and knitter. She holds a PhD in Human Relations, an MA in Christian Studies, as well as a master’s and undergraduate degree in the health sciences. Emerging from personal experience, her work focuses on the spiritual journeys of parents raising profoundly disabled children.
A lapsed academic, Laura volunteers with The Island Walk (PEI), the Grand Valley Trails Association (ON), and the Canadian Non-Fiction Collective. She spends most mornings wrestling with a manuscript telling the story of walking around PEI – literally – as a way to process her son’s death.
