This time of year always reminds me how traditions, whether decorating a tree, cooking a shared meal, or unwrapping gifts, act as subtle threads stitching past to present. Not every family memory is warm, yet even the difficult ones shape the stories we carry. When we pause to remember where we came from, we’re better…

As part of the Seattle Arts & Lectures series, Patti Smith spoke about her newest memoir, Bread of Angels. I’ve admired her for years: her poetry, her vision, and her unwavering intention to speak her truth through verse and music. Most of all, I admire her courage. There was something profoundly comforting about her presence: unguarded,…

October has always felt like the true beginning of the year to me. The days grow shorter, the shadows stretch longer, and the air thrums with expectancy. Between harvest festivals, book events, and the anxious excitement of a new release, there’s also that quiet voice reminding me to pause, to notice how the light fades…

August in the PNW Sun-warmed cedar, crushed pine needles, a trace of salt drifting up from the Sound. This time of year, I find myself listening more closely to the hush beneath the trees, watching the light settle softly on the branches. That fleeting fragrance feels like the forest’s way of reminding us to pause,…

Anthony Bourdain, one of my heroes, once said: “Travel isn’t always pretty… Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you… You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”   📷 Goteik Viaduct, Myanmar I snapped this photo leaning out the window of the train from Pwin…

A Historic Gathering: Everett Woman’s Book Club   I had the honor of speaking at the Spring Luncheon for the Historic Everett Woman’s Book Club. Founded in 1894, this remarkable group of women not only championed literature, but also helped establish Everett’s very first public library. From the moment I arrived, I felt warmly welcomed—especially…

A Light Exists in Spring By Emily Dickinson A light exists in Spring not present on the year at any other period—when March is scarcely here. A color stands abroad on solitary fields that science cannot overtake but human nature feels. It waits upon the lawn, it shows the furthest tree upon the furthest slope…

HBO’s – The White Lotus – Season Three One of the things The White Lotus captures so well this season—set in Thailand—is the quiet but ever-present dissonance between its wealthy American guests and the culture surrounding them. Having lived in Thailand, I recognize the subtleties: the way Western entitlement brushes up against deeply ingrained customs, the moments…