Writer’s Statement

I have a husband, three daughters, a dog, and a pet snake who was acquired without my permission. All of these people and creatures keep me on my toes and are a constant reminder to me of the universal need to express oneself, find human connection, and be lifelong learners. A day at my house is enough to convince anyone that real life is better than anything that could be made up; I feel like I live in a sitcom.

There is nothing more interesting than real life. I like to illuminate a particular feeling that reminds readers that so much of what makes us feel alone in life is omnipresent. I also like to share the magic in the mundane moments; that’s where most of the joy in life lies. I reject the toxic positivity movement, and my work encompasses the idea that “you already are everything you need.” In a culture where most self-help literature tells us we need to strive to be better, my work speaks to the opposite. It’s refreshing to hear that if you lean into the imperfect nature that already exists inside of you, you might just find the peace and growth you were looking for all along. This is a message that today’s young people need that can be life saving. I want to speak it into existence for the sake of my kids, and for my generation too. 

My favorite authors are Mari Andrew, Glennon Doyle, Luvvie Ajayi Jones, and Sark. Mari Andrew’s book, My Inner Sky, explores the highs and lows of life and how we can transform everything that’s happened to us into something beautiful. It has been an incredibly healing resource for me that I pick up time and time again. Glennon Doyle leaves me in awe every time I read one of her books: Love Warrior was provocative, and taught me how to be resilient in this messy, “brutiful” world, and Untamed taught me how to ask myself hard questions and choose myself over cultural conditioning. Luvvie Ajayi Jones writes essays that tell it like it is in all aspects of life in a witty way that has me simultaneously laugh-crying and wanting to be better: her books I’m Judging You: The Do Better Manual and Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual are not to be missed. Sark has authored numerous best sellers, including one of my favorites Eating Mangoes Naked: Finding Pleasure Everywhere, which is a beautifully illustrated guide to seeking out pleasure no matter what difficulties we are facing in life. Each one of these women has shared her stories, activism, and a kaleidoscope of emotions that have made me feel seen. They influence my work and inspire me to lean into my sentience and share my vulnerabilities. These authors have created communities of like-minded readers and followers whom they encourage to share their own truths: I’m happy to grab grab the baton and continue to pass it along to future generations.

I have been writing poetry and studying how the language and rhythm of spoken words can evoke different emotions. I enjoy using poetry as a medium for capturing a moment in time that might otherwise be forgotten. In my poem, “Jessica” I  was inspired by a celebrity after reading her memoir, realizing that our lives growing up had a lot of similar themes: abuse, disordered eating, etc., as written in this excerpt from my poetry collection: “Jessica keeps her birthday candles that she wished upon. She wishes upon lucky pennies and dandelions and fallen eyelashes…Jessica wishes upon wishbones and not hipbones now.” In my poem “A Ghost Tour of My Childhood” I discuss memories of growing up and the realism of elementary school, “The magical place of chicken patty and applesauce lunches and where you could only borrow three library books at a time,” compared to high school: “These were the good old days, before the desperation of first love breakups wounded us with scars that would follow us into our 20s.” I grapple with faith and death in my poem “Roo,” inspired by a friend who passed unexpectedly: “Home is both somewhere above the clouds and under a hinged lid” and I compare my ADHD brain to an annoying plastic clacker toy in my poem “ADHD”: “You could break your wrist slamming those kabangers. My brain is mashed potatoes after the beating it takes from two tiny spheres on a handle, neurons and synapses flying uncontrollably.” Common threads in my poetry have been unpacking cultural ideals that shape our self worth and belief systems, and processing trauma and grief. 

My current project is finishing my memoir, The Scenic Route to Adulthood, and preparing it for publication. It details what lead to my nervous breakdown and how I sought help for my mental health. Working through my crippling anxiety, depression, and ADHD has been pivotal to my healing process and my writing. In my yet-to-be-published memoir, I grapple with being a millennial taking a winding path to self-acceptance, and rewriting the rules along the way as they pertain to every facet of my life. While focusing on the past, present, and future, I take readers through my relatable journey and share the tools I used to adapt and find my own path, hoping that others can find their own way using my guide. In my memoir, I share how the chaos of the worldwide pandemic shook the foundation of my wellbeing; I decided to sell our family’s home in a conservative, racist cesspool, and move back to my hometown of La Crosse, WI, for the sake of raising my kids in a more diverse community. This huge life change created a shift in my own personal growth and began a healing journey that has inspired me to write as a tool for healing.

My passions as an educator, a mother, and a person who struggles with mental health have shaped my desire for using words as a form of self-expression and self improvement. All people deserve to find a medium for expressing themselves and telling their life stories. Writing and therapy have been two of the most integral pieces of the puzzle for me in finding self-love and adapting to life’s twists and turns. I hope my writing can be a lamppost to light the way for other young people to love themselves and know their worth.