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LIFE STORIES
About Me — Courtney Burry
Whirling dervish. Adventurer. Reformed helicopter mom. Fighter.
Chapter 1: On the Move
I was born in White Plains, New York to Canadian parents. Both of my parents came from big Catholic families and had 5 brothers and sisters apiece. Interestingly, my father’s sister also married my mother’s brother. This just goes to show, you don’t have to go to Tennessee to see people keeping it all in the family.
Our family stayed in New York for a year before moving to Rotterdam, Holland. Fun fact: our house in Holland had a secret room in the attic that had once used to hide Jewish children during WWII. Our house also looked out onto a pond, where my older brother and I would go to feed the ducks every day. In the winters, it served as our own personal skating rink.
Dutch was the first language I learned in school. Apparently I was pretty good at swearing as well. At least that’s what the principal told my mother on a regular basis.
My younger sister was also born in Holland. Just after her first birthday, we all moved to Toronto, Ontario in Canada. This was my first time in Canada, but Canada would become my on-again, off-again home for the next 15 years.
