I write—way out there—on broad themes, the universe, the environment, wandering stars, the connection we have to all living things, and I write—up close, deep and personal—on trees cut from their roots, the human struggle, alienation, adoption, and racism, but always through the lens of someone walking this earth at human speed, looking for the divine in all of us. 

Tax executive. Foster mom. Adoptive mom. Host mom. Single mom. Baker, bicyclist, barbecue sauce maker, avid reader, lover of words, world traveler. Adoptee, seeker of wisdom, connection, grace. Lover of history, hunter of forgotten stories, stargazer. Her lyrical prose and poetry invite us in to witness people fighting for their dreams, for dignity, for acknowledgment of their humanity. The themes of her writing cover the layers of life she’s experienced – finding family and belonging, carving her path to the top of her field, sometimes as the only female executive at the table, sometimes hiding in plain sight as racist barbs pinged around the room. She is the author of the historical novel, Adelaide, Painter of Royalty/Painter of Revolution. Her poetry has appeared in the San Diego Poetry Annual, and A Year in Ink (Vol. 15 and 16), and pieces of her memoir have appeared in Shaking the Tree. Brazen. Short. Memoir (Vol. 4 and 6). She is currently working on a full-length memoir and plotting her second novel.

This scene depicts Adelaide Labille-Guiard (woman in white) painting Joseph Vien in her bid to win a place in the royal academy.