Sandra Yuen MacKay is a writer, artist, musician and speaker on mental health issues based in Vancouver. She has a Fine Arts Diploma from Langara College and an art history degree from the University of British Columbia. She published a collection of poetry in 2026 under the name Sandra Yuen, that is also the name she uses for her visual art.
Fiction
Chop Shtick
Createspace Independent Publishing, 2016.
Synopsis
Told by Cathy Fung, a single, schizophrenic, Chinese artist, nicknamed the “Queen of Clichés,” this story twists quickly into mayhem and amusement. The Big Six, made up of six struggling artists including Cathy, are commissioned to build an Upcycled sculpture in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. Cathy is paranoid about the neighbours’ missing cat and strange goings on next door. The artists investigate, which leads into a dangerous escapade.Not only is Cathy envious of her older brother Leonard the Pest but also Nathan X, an aspiring painter in the group, who dates a snobby Parisian named Sylvie. “I know all about Canada. The beaver fur trade, hunting buffalo, igloos and pemmican,” says Sylvie. Marco Manicotti, a muscled sculptor, fights with Denise, a Chinese accessory designer, over the position of a pipe. The leader of the group, Raj aka the Big Kahuna, a troubled artist himself, knows Cathy’s weaknesses are her naivety and a heart that cares too much. Cathy is led on a path of self-discovery toward her true potential.
Fiction (Short stories)
From New York to Vancouver: Stories on the Fly
Co-author James D. Young.
CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2018.
Synopsis
From New York to Vancouver: Stories on the Fly is the brainchild of Sandra Yuen MacKay and James D. Young who met through an online writers group, www.lit.org. They started to correspond and critique each other’s work. Out of that creative bond, they went on a quest to write a novella jointly through email. Thus “Untitled Story” was born, an entertaining story of a relationship between a New York financial analyst, Peter Petrovich, and Samantha Chu, a student in Vancouver, British Columbia, written from multiple first person viewpoints from opposite sides of the continent. The contrast of writing styles and character personalities complement each other well. The collection includes two other stories. “Legacy” by Young is about a youthful photographer’s life, while “Inner Circle” by MacKay is an unconventional romance told with humor.
Poetry
I Want to be Buried Standing Up
Published under the name Sandra Yuen.
Winnipeg: At Bay Press, 2026.
Synopsis (From the publisher’s website)
These writings came about after over 50 years of living, moving in a time of transition, change and revelation. An education gained from living more independently and from insights developed through conversation, exploration, pondering, consternation and lack of sleep.
Necessity breeds action. Time doesn’t heal all wounds. One must do the work and even then sometimes one can’t change history no matter how much therapy you do!
Non-fiction (Memoir)
My Schizophrenic Life: The Road to Recovery From Mental Illness
Dundas, Ont.: Bridgeross Communications, 2010.