Feb 05, 2021
I Will Always Be Able to Find My Father in the West
Out on the road and in the great outdoors my dad and I discovered we were more like each other than we believed.
Bodh Gaya Sells “Enlightenment” to Tourists—It Sold Me a Philly Cheesesteak
My heart is set on the Philly cheesesteak—the only one, I’m certain, to be found in India.
Oct 22, 2020
What Public Bathrooms Taught Me
The problem, of course, is that the public toilet involves doing the private in public.
Sep 24, 2020
Finding Biodiversity (and Chocolate) in the Forests of Ecuador
As a person who spends a lot of her time reading, writing, and teaching about endangered creatures and environments, I craved something hopeful.
Apr 08, 2020
Shocked Quartz: Traveling with a Chronic Illness
Will the vertigo again become acute? Will the stress of this, or some root cause that spurs it, end my life before it might otherwise end?
Mar 26, 2020
In Search of Wonder in Iseyin
It’s Nigeria, after all. Hope is what keeps many alive. In plethora of sufferings and fears, prayers abound.
Feb 20, 2020
A Nigerian’s Field Guide to Survival in Positano
We pass other boats and, from each one, there is the double-take, a stare. Two boats full of only black people is apparently a rare sight.
Oct 23, 2019
Facing My Fears in the World’s Largest Sand Desert
We were three single Americans with a whiskey handle. What reception would we wake to if we fall asleep on the wrong sand?
Dec 20, 2018
On the Haunting Beauty of Roadside Crosses in New Mexico
The roadside cross is a jarring balance of the emotional poles, internal and external, surely an action by and for the remaining soul—not the one who has departed.
Sep 11, 2018
Finding Faith Beyond God on the Camino de Santiago
For me, loss of faith was hollowing. Can you believe in miracles without believing in God?
Sep 10, 2018
How a Lake and Former Coal Mine Can Help Us Think About Fossil Fuels, Renewable Energy, and How We Seek to Control Temperature
Collecting and burning wood, I felt close to my family. It was something tangible, something that kept us warm.
Jun 14, 2018
Eight US States Have an Official State Firearm
The state bird of Alabama is the yellowhammer, and the state game bird is the turkey. One bird for beauty, and one to blow up.
Apr 25, 2018
Meeting MM: On Friendship and Disability in Japan
“Being disabled my entire life, I have yet to experience the kind of loss that MM must feel. To me, disability is the norm.”
Nov 21, 2017
How to Gossip about African Writing in Geneva
Meeting a fellow writer you admire in search of approval and permission.
Nov 07, 2017
Lost, and Then Found Once More: On Traveling Alone Without Sight
“The feeling of being out on my own is worth all the fear I must fight to get there.”
Sep 11, 2017
Why Do They Come to the Iowa State Fair?
“I’m still transfixed by the deep-fried stick of butter on a stick.”
Sep 01, 2017
The Art of Doing Nothing: An Ode to Ferry Boats
Ferries are a salve against a society that prioritizes productivity above all else.
Jul 13, 2017
Traveling While Black
“What a menace, to live in bodies that are so frequently assumed to be corrupt.”
Jun 30, 2017
