First and foremost, Ida Linehan Young is a grandmother to the most precious little boys, Parker and Samuel, a mother to three adult children, Sharon, Stacey, and Shawna, and a wife to Thomas. In her busy daily life, Ida works in the information technology sector of the federal government of Canada, and she volunteers her time in the community of Conception Bay South with the Kiwanis Club of Kelligrews.

Ida had a fascination with writing in her high school days, when she dabbled in poetry and essays. In 2012, she became serious about her writing with a story to tell, and that led to her memoir, No Turning Back: Surviving the Linehan Family Tragedy, published in 2014. 

Having found a passion for writing, and with a love of local history and lore, she wrote four works of historical fiction: Being Mary Ro (2018), The Promise (2019), The Liars (2020), and The Stolen Ones (2021). In 2021, the first three novels were issued the Silver Medal for Best Series—Fiction by the Independent Publisher Book Awards. The fourth novel in the series, The Stolen Ones, won the NL Reads 2022 competition and the Margaret Duley Award. The novel was also a 2022 Bronze Medal Winner (Historical Fiction) of the eLit Awards, presented by the Jenkins Group. 

In 2023, Ida wrote her first work of speculative fiction, The Room Upstairs, which appeared on the Atlantic Books Today bestsellers list.

Ida’s second work of non-fiction, If I Cry I’ll Fill the Ocean, appeared on the Globe and Mail bestsellers list. In 2024, it won the International Impact Book Awards in two categories, Memoir and Inspirational, and was long-listed for the Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards. In 2024, Ida wrote her latest work of historical fiction, A Secret Close to Home.

With strong influences from the familial art of storytelling passed down by her father, Ed Linehan, and her maternal grandfather, Frank Power, Ida writes stories about her beloved home province, Newfoundland and Labrador. She enjoys researching events from the late nineteenth century and weaving fictional characters through historical tales that complement the cultural richness, renewing interest in the province’s storied past. Sometimes she writes across different genres just to tell a story.

Follow Ida on Facebook, X, or Instagram: @idalinehanyoung 

Or on her website: www.idalinehanyoung.ca