She has come back refreshed.
Edwards (40), a member of the Black Jacks for 12 years, had notched up an impressive international record.
But the edge had gone off her game and she needed a rest from the grind of regular practice and constant games.
Her last time in the Back Jacks uniform was in the Trans Tasman series last year.
"I just felt I needed a break," Edwards said.
"I was young enough to have a year off and then try to get back in the Black Jacks.
"It was nice not having to be at the green each weekend. I had a very lazy year."
Edwards still played bowls but did not play for her club, Canterbury or New Zealand.
She won the Golden Nuggets on the Gold Coast and the world indoor singles in 2009 and this year.
"I picked the events I wanted to compete in and played in a few tournaments," she said.
Edwards adopted a more relaxed approach during the few events she played during her 18-month break.
"I had a different attitude and just went out to enjoy myself.
"I used to be very hard on myself and pushed to do more training. But in my time off I have become more relaxed and want to take that into my game."
"It is more a mental than a physical change.
"I'm still as competitive as hell," she said.
"But I take things in my stride more now."
Edwards is one of New Zealand's best-performed female international bowlers and has won gold medals at the Asia and Pacific championships, Commonwealth Games and World Bowls.
She first competed internationally in the Trans Tasman series in 1997 and is an experienced international.
The gold medals she won in the pairs with Sharon Sims at World Bowls in England in 2004 and with her best mate, Val Smith, in Christchurch in 2008 have been the highlights of her bowls career.
"A lot of people think the Commonwealth Games gold medal would be my highlight," Edwards said.
"But for a bowler, World Bowls is the Olympics of our sport, and winning those two gold medals were great."
Edwards was a member of the New Zealand women's football squad for six years before she started playing bowls 18 years ago.
"I was in the squad for a long time but I never made the team and pulled on the New Zealand jumper," she said.
Edwards, who was born in England, started playing bowls for the United Club at Nelson and honed her skills in the Business House league.
She shifted to Christchurch five years ago when her husband, Dave Edwards, was appointed to his dream job as the Bowls New Zealand coach.
Edwards has a dominant personality and was appointed a skip from the start.
"In my early days, I used to have a lot more drives and runs," she said.
"But I've calmed down a lot after learning a lot more about the game."
One of her strengths as a skip stems from her ability to get on with most people.
"The job of a good skip is to get the best out of her players and I can do that quite well."
Jo Edwards
Age: 40
Born: Clatterbridge, England
Family: Husband Dave
Sport: Bowls
Record: NZ champion pairs (2004); NZ representative 1997-2009.
International record: Commonwealth Games pairs gold medal (2002); World Bowls pairs gold medal (2004, 2008); world indoor singles gold medal (2009, 2010); Golden Nuggets title (2010).
