About The Authors

Franke James, Author

Franke James is an activist, artist, and the author of books on climate change, free expression, ethics, and disability rights (both for her sister Teresa, who has Down syndrome, and herself, who has a movement disability called Ataxia).

For Franke, the diverse issues in Banned on the Hill, Bothered by My Green Conscience, Dear Office-Politics, and Freeing Teresa are all connected by the need to speak up and take action. The spark for Freeing Teresa was lit in 2013. Franke and her husband Billiam James helped her younger sister Teresa get out of a nursing home, regain her decision-making rights, and get a public apology from the Ontario government. 

In 2014, Franke won the BC Civil Liberties Association’s “Award for Excellence in the Arts” for her national campaign on the importance of free expression. Her poster campaign, “Do Not Talk About Climate Change,” appeared in three Canadian cities and Washington DC. In 2015, Franke was awarded PEN Canada’s Ken Filkow Prize for her “tenacity in uncovering an abuse of power and her commitment to fostering a national conversation in the face of censorship.” She lives in Vancouver, BC, with her husband Bill and her sister Teresa.

Teresa Heartchild, Contributor

Teresa Heartchild is an artist, poet, author, and self-advocate who has Down syndrome. Teresa has shown remarkable resilience and courage. In 2013, an Ontario government social worker determined that she was “not capable,” and immediately, she lost her right to decide where she would live. Teresa was put into a nursing home by two of her older siblings. However, Teresa did not have any medical need to be in long-term care. Within days, her father, sister Franke James, and brother-in-law, Bill James, helped her get discharged. 

Then Teresa had a new capacity test done that determined she could decide where she lived, and who would take care of her. In March 2014, Teresa moved across the country with the Jameses to British Columbia, where she started an online petition asking for an apology. In the Change.org video, Teresa said it was wrong to put her in a nursing home. On behalf of Teresa, the BC Civil Liberties Association wrote to the Ontario Minister of Health, saying, “We are gravely concerned that the government, through its actions, appears to condone the forced placement and mistreatment of developmentally disabled adults.” With further publicity and after two years of campaigning, the Ontario Minister of Health publicly apologized to Teresa. 

In 2016, Teresa published an illustrated poetry book, Pretty Amazing: How I Found Myself in the Downtown Eastside. In 2018, she followed up with her second book, Totally Amazing: Free to Be Me. She has had solo and group art shows, and won arts awards including two Canada Council grants to travel to art events in Boston, MA and Merida, Mexico. Teresa’s successful activism for disability rights was honoured by the British Columbia Human Rights Commissioner, who named Teresa as a “Champion for Change” in 2019. In 2023, Teresa is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of her rescue with the publication of Freeing Teresa. She lives with Franke and Bill in Vancouver, BC.

Billiam James, Co-Author

Billiam James is an artist, designer and writer. In 2013, he helped his wife, Franke, get her younger sister, Teresa, out of a nursing home and brought her to live with them. Together, they helped Teresa ask for an apology for the wrongful institutionalization. After two years of campaigning, the Ontario Minister of Health publicly apologized to Teresa. 

Billiam’s creative work is focused on disability rights, mental health, climate change, and free speech. He combines storytelling, visual art and music with social activism to help people see things from different perspectives. He lives in Vancouver, BC, with Franke and Teresa.