Many in Nelson will know Pat Henman. She was honoured in 2018 for her impact on arts and culture in Nelson, has been a part of many theatre productions and performed sold-out shows with her many siblings back east.

All of this describes a talented artist who, in 2013, also became the survivor of a car incident involving a drunk driver. Seven years later, she's used her creative ability to process the incident. Her memoir, Beyond the Legal Limit, will be out in February 2021.

"It's an experience that so much came out of it that I thought it was worth telling, worth sharing," Henman said.

Now, Henman is one of four Kootenay-based artists who are part of the Civic Theatre's inaugural artist in residence program. She's using her time with the Civic Theatre to transform her story from book to the stage.

Henman's stage performance is tentatively set to tour starting this April.