Once upon a time, if you had asked me who I was, I would have answered you with a list of labels. Things like mother (of 3), yoga teacher, climber, erstwhile Philosophy professor, runner, writer. In March 2020, I contracted Covid and got sick in the way that makes identities slough off like old skin. Are you still a runner if you can’t run?
It took a few years of healing, but I can run now—a little, anyway. I suppose I could begin gathering up labels again, attaching them to myself like bumper stickers. But I wear everything a bit more loosely than I used to. This doesn’t mean I’m detached from life; even with a few lingering limitations from long Covid, I feel alive, at home in my own body, and excited to wake up each morning. Is there a label for that?
Here are a few of the things that light me up most right now: writing fiction and poetry, camping with my kids, walking our dog, talking with my sister on the phone, sinking my hands into garden soil, climbing with friends, playing piano or guitar, or doing anything that deepens my sense of connection with other people or the natural world. Both coaching and forest therapy fall into that category for me!
If you would like to get to know me better, come find me on Substack, where I share a mix of poetry and personal essays with an incredibly generous community of fellow readers and writers. Of if you really want to climb inside my head, then check out my novel. (You can also read more about it at the bottom of this page.) It’s my favorite thing I’ve ever written. In many ways, the process of writing it rewrote me.
A bit about my credentials . . . In addition to two Masters degrees (Philosophy and Counseling Psychology), I have many years of experience as a teacher and group facilitator. I am a certified Wayfinder Life Coach and have been coaching clients since early 2023. I’m also a certified Forest Therapy Guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and have been leading walks since 2021.
Emma Madsen is on the run. She is on the run and off the map. For seventeen years, she has almost squeezed herself onto the straight and narrow path charted by the Mormon Church and her own devout parents. But she's tired of rules, boxes, and rigid lines-the things her black-and-white-thinking father, Graham, seems to value most. Emma craves freedom. Graham craves control. When he puts his foot down on yet another detail of her life, Emma decides she's done complying. She speeds for the swiftest offramp, a sin so egregious that surely no one will try to coax her back to the fold. To her dismay, a positive pregnancy test quickly follows.
Emma can think of only one adult who might be willing and able to offer help: her estranged, free-spirited, never-Mormon grandmother. Belly fluttering with uncertainty, Emma heads for the high desert of southern Utah to find her. This exodus sends out sparks, igniting Emma's family and lighting fires no one imagined.
All Is Well follows Emma on her quest to carve out a life of her own, and it trips along behind her family and friends in their attempts to either rescue or thwart her. It is a celebration of imperfect love and a romping exploration of the ways we lose and find ourselves-all set against red rocks, craggy peaks, and the peculiar landscape of Mormon culture.
Say hello!
If you have a question about coaching or forest therapy, or if something on this website sparked your interest, and you just want to say hello, please reach out! I’d love to hear from you.