Jackie grew up in Fife, Scotland, and after graduating from the University of Edinburgh with an MA in German and Linguistics, lured by the challenge of learning a language and experiencing a culture so completely different from her own “normal”, she set off for Japan in 1991 “for a year”. She is still there more than three decades later and the adventure continues.
Since moving to her husband’s native Hiroshima in 2000 she has been fascinated by the juxtapositions of old and new, horrific destruction and breathtaking beauty, the talk of peace and the ever-present spectre of war that her chosen hometown reveals to all who visit. Her husband and daughter exist only because her mother-in-law’s home was protected by a fortunately located hill on August 6th 1945, so sharing the story of what happened here with honesty is personal for her.
Jackie’s 24 years in Hiroshima have been spent facilitating cross cultural communication and mutual learning, and forging connections between diverse groups of international visitors to Japan and local experts and Atomic Bomb survivors, some of whom who have been key figures in Hiroshima’s post-war reconstruction story.
When she is not sharing what she has learned during this time with visitors to the city, Jackie is an avid reader, film lover and supporter of the performing arts.