Cancer is a word I’ve known for a long time. I’ve heard the word used in the context of medical research. I’ve heard it uttered when it has come to affect family or friends or colleagues, or those of my family, friends, and colleagues. I’ve heard it spoken at many fundraising events, looking to find … More Why I Ride: Doing My Grandma’s Life Justice
While I was kayaking through Everglades National Park this past March, I had some time to reflect on the beautiful love and deep importance of both our own mothers and our shared Mother Earth. I had the chance to write some of these reflections for Misadventures Magazine just in time to wish my mom and … More In Gratitude to Our Mothers and Our Mother Earth
I don’t know how to start writing about you, so I thought I’d break the writer’s block by writing to you. After six nights and seven days spent within the depths of you, I left a piece of my heart behind in your waters. It’s hard to explain to others what this is, and it’s … More Dear Everglades—
As I’ve tumbled madly into love with the wilderness, I’ve found it concurrently driving my want to do more writing. Back in November, I cofounded a women’s outdoor group called Wild Wilderness Women, and this winter we took a weekend trip out to rural Maryland to do some cross-country skiing. The experience tied together many … More What Makes Us Wild: Cofounding a Women’s Wilderness Group
In January, I attended the Martin Luther King, Jr. joint Shabbat service of Sixth & I Synagogue and Turner Memorial AME Church. During his sermon, Turner Memorial’s pastor remarked, “There is faith and there is fear, and they both require belief.” I remember my mom taking me to the airport once and saying with the … More Woman Solo: An Everglades Love Story
It had been a rough stretch. It was Thanksgiving and I was over 2,000 miles away from home with a freshly broken heart and a heap of city stress. But it was a sunny day and I was determined to seize it. I pulled on my black tights, hot pink workout shorts, a layering of … More Long Live Gary Fisher: A Tribute to True Fresh Starts
My toes were a combination of numb and painful. It was below freezing on a Friday night in the District of Columbia, and I was spending it walking around Capitol Hill talking to people living life unsheltered. I handed Dan and Jenny each a cup of hot chocolate, as they playfully teased me for the … More Conversations with God: Being a Servant
I’ve long felt that God is where the sea meets the land. I was born and raised submerged in a Pacific Northwest marine layer, always aware of the omnipresence of the powerful Pacific Ocean. Without questions, without doubt, I found myself throughout my young adult years drawn to the water. I haven’t always had the … More Conversations with God: Let Go and Let the Pacific
I slinked outside into the night to call my mom. She asked how my trip had been and I swallowed hard and told her that it had been great. We discussed birds and alligators and the weather. And the whole time I just kept hoping that she’d see straight through me and ask me what … More Conservation Efforts for Slow Thinking: Lessons from Everglades National Park
“Everyone here is valuable,” she said to me, “Everyone plays an important role.” I could tell that she meant it. It wasn’t just one of those nice things you say to try to make everyone feel like a winner. I looked into the eyes of this woman one Sunday at the New York Avenue Presbyterian … More I Saw God Today
ROUGH OUTLINES 