I live near the St. Croix River Valley in Minnesota with my husband and daughter where we tend a large organic vegetable garden, explore nature and do our best to live simply.
As a mother, spouse, gardener, and writer, I am committed to cultivating ways of being that are life-giving and sustainable for people, communities and the planet. I love putting words together to paint pictures of ideas, as well as walking with others as they explore what it means to live well on a finite planet. Hiking through forests and across prairies, wading in streams, digging in the soil and surrounding myself with natural wonder help me stay grounded in reality. I currently work as a wellness coach, occasionally coordinate with yoga teachers and organic farms to offer retreat experiences, write books, and though all of that, strive to give voice to stories that need to be told.
Find my online courses at We Are Wildness U, an online learning center for those who want to learn with Nature, about Nature and from Nature.
Co-founder of the 12 Tiny Things movement, I’m also a regular contributor to We Are Wildness as well as past contributor to Tiny Buddha and Elephant Journal. I have published a number of books: Prairie Grown: Stories and Recipes from a South Dakota Hillside (Avenida Books; June 2016) and Woodland Manitou: To be on Earth (Homebound Publications; September 2017). What Comes Next: Between Beauty and Destruction is due out in Spring 2019.
I also offer private wellness coaching on a limited basis – you can learn more about this offering, along with any upcoming retreats, at Wildfire Wellness.
As I explore what it means to be a writer, I am noticing a pattern. I find myself consistently giving voice to stories that illustrate the beauty and importance of living in ways that honor sustainability, truth and authenticity. They aren’t always happy stories, or pretty stories, or stories with a nice ending. Many of the stories that want to be told right now don’t even have an ending. Many of the stories that want to be told right now are those that we might not want to hear. But whatever the story, whether it be my own, or stories of others, or stories of the natural world – It is my hope that by telling these stories, their resonance will grow and inspire change.
Thank you for your presence here, and may your time on earth be one of well-being, peace and commitment to what you deem as enough for a beautiful life.
