I have been affected by chronic auto-immune illnesses of various sorts since 1999. For the first three years of being ill, I had no diagnosis. Fatigue, pain, and an unreliable body have been my companions for more than two decades.

I was diagnosed with another auto-immune disease, rheumatoid arthritis, in 2021. As a Unitarian Universalist minister, I served congregations in Washington, Colorado, and Illinois before leaving full time ministry due to increased disability.

I am also a Zen Buddhist priest and teacher, teaching through Cloud Way Zen, as well as a change coach and spiritual director. I offer online classes for those living with chronic illness and pain, through San Francisco Zen Center. The next 6-week class will begin Saturday, September 27th.

My previous books are Wildbranch: An Anthology of Nature, Place-Based, and Environmental Writing, with Susan Cohen, and The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women, with Susan Moon. You can also find my writing in national Buddhist publications.

Although I was living in the Midwest during the writing of the book, I now live (with my two cats) between the Olympic Mountains and the Salish Sea.