My essay, Negotiating with Nomads, won Gold in the Travel and Shopping category of the 2022 Solas Awards! It’s a humorous story about my visit to a trinket shop in Essaouira, my favorite city in Morocco. You can read the story here!
Sadie Beyl, founder of From Mourning to Light, hosted a Grief Summit in October 2022, and she interviewed me as one of her guest experts. We discussed my book Voices of the Grieving Heart, but we also spoke about something that’s rarely discussed: After our life partner has died, and after all of the time and effort it takes to grieve and keep living, how do we know when it’s the right time to consider a new relationship?
When I write about travel, I like to focus on what really hits me. Writing (and hopefully reading) those stories is far more enjoyable than listicles or travelogues.
During our three days in Monteverde, Costa Rica, what hit me—in the face, 24 hours a day—was howling wind and once, eye-stinging rain. I expected some gentle rain, and we had that too; after all, it’s a cloud forest. But the constant, window-rattling, 20-25 mph wind was so loud in our hotel room that we had to visit the farmacia and buy earplugs so we could sleep. …
“Do Amish men wear underwear?”
In my mind, I closed my eyes and slapped my forehead in disbelief at the question. I’m always amazed at what people will ask when they’re learning about other cultures.
Yvonne and I took a guided tour of the Amish Farm and House in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Our guide, who was not Amish, was knowledgeable about the history of the Amish and Mennonite communities in America and gave solid answers to a wide swath of questions. She stared at the man for only a moment before answering. …
Come to my workshop with Reimagine on Tuesday, September 6, 2022 from 5:00-6:30 PM Pacific time! Experience creating poetry that gives words to images and experiences that can be so hard to express. Reading and writing poetry has power to heal and transform our grief. This workshop is a place for writers and non-writers to experience creating and sharing the poetry of our loss in a safe space. In this interactive workshop, we’ll use readings and simple exercises to explore your own grief journey through poetry. We’ll create poems and share them with other participants in a safe, non-judgmental space (optional). No writing experience or poetic talent required.
Register here! You can pay $15 to support me, or just come for free, your choice!
On August 16 at 10 AM Pacific, I’ll be presenting Voices of the Grieving Heart for the Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Foundation’s Author Series! The event is free and you can register here on Eventbrite! I hope you’ll join me there!
My interview with Kate Burns of The Death Dialogues Project was released today on Spotify! You can listen here.
Voices of the Grieving Heart was recently named a 2022 Distinguished Favorite by the Independent Press Awards!
I was proud to win the Bronze award in a contest sponsored by Bay Area Travel Writers: the Lee Foster Travel Photography Award. It was no small feat since there were well over 100 entries. The 5 judges were all professional travel photographers, including 3 with long, successful track records at National Geographic. Here’s the photo, which I shot at Arches National Park in Utah.
I was interviewed on the “Open To Hope” podcast this past Thursday, October 21! I spoke with Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley about my experience of losing my wife, Susan, how poetry helped me to express my grief, and how I came to write Voices of the Grieving Heart. I also read a couple of poems from the book. The Open to Hope podcast reaches over 7 million people per year! You can find it here.