Field Notes #6: Reading is an antidote to the noise and polarization of our painful worlds.

The story of how I went from homebound cripple to budding athlete.

Field Notes #4: Most people fall into one of two categories: avoid conflict or quietly enjoy it. I love conflict: it has given me a full life. This post is a love letter to conflict: reframing it from something we dodge into a force for growth, connection, and creative purpose.

A deep dive into creative alchemy, civic courage, and curating the public self; through hard reads, powerful stories, and the discipline of discernment.

Field Notes #3: What happened when I wrote every morning for a year.

Field Notes #2: Moving beyond discipline: how attention mode and time structure shape problem-solving.

Our breath can be our biggest ally – or our hidden saboteur. The key is to learn to align energy, recovery and effort to enhance performance.

Space gave me what “should” never could: the freedom to choose, the courage to build, and the clarity to become an entrepreneur.

July's reading stack - from Agatha Christie to Mónica Guzmán - sparked reflections on splitting, nuance, and why curiosity is more powerful than outrage.

Welcome to the second installment of Books & Reflections, my regular roundup of what I’ve been reading, watching, and reflecting on. This series tracks the ideas shaping my work, my writing, and myself. 📚 Inputs & Influences Books - Fiction Arabella. Georgette Heyer, 1949. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Mary Ann Shaffer, 2008. Books - Non-fiction…

Welcome to the first installment of Books & Reflections, my regular roundup of what I’ve been reading, watching, and reflecting on. This series tracks the ideas shaping my work, my writing, and myself. 📚 Inputs & Influences Books - Fiction Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen, 1813. The Mystery of the Blue Train. Agatha Christie, 1928. The Masqueraders. Georgette Heyer, 1928.

Does anyone else use words without knowing exactly what they mean? The theme for the Speaker Slam competition in January 2025 was resilience. The organizers asked me if I had any stories to share. Sure, I’m tough! I used to be a boxer. ‘It’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. It's about how much you can take, and keep moving forward.

Preface: A version of this text first appeared in Discovering Ratchet (the now-defunct blog) on May 26, 2016 under the title "I Don't Like Fighting. This is Why I Box". It is reproduced here, with minor edits. It is part of a 9-post series written between 2016-18 on mental health and my struggles to make sense of what my brain was doing to me, while presenting to the outside world as a successful 30-something year old professional.

Intro I turned 40 this summer, and predictably, I’ve been working through a mid-life crisis. It’s been building for the past two years: I spent a lot of money on a fantastic education at a the top business schools, only to realize my big dream is to be an author(*). What to do? Well, I decided to do what all the professors preached: be bold.

We all have books that send us careening down a different path in life. The Science of Stuck is mine. The Lost Decade After dealing with back to back depressions in my late twenties, I sought out help, and was given a diagnosis: Major Depressive Disorder (formerly known as Clinical Depression). For a year, I worked with a therapist who gave me some tools to manage myself and off I went.

Whenever I travel, I am obsessed with visiting all the historical buildings and all the churches even though, with time, I know those memories fade and blend into one blurry feeling of awe and beauty. Over time, it is always the little things that stick with me. The French's idiosyncrasy of saying "bonjour" when stepping into and out of an elevator.

I was afraid to post this video online, because it shows a woman who is not comfortable in her own skin. In the 5 years since I attended that dance festival I’ve put on a lot of weight, to the point I no longer recognize myself. The weight gain began during my last years of Kizomba: I wanted to eat myself into a body shape that wouldn’t catch the eye of the more predatory participants.

Diving Lessons, Mother’s Perspective My mother would tell me the story of my diving lessons often. Junie, sweetie, you would climb all the way up to the 5m diving board, stand there frozen, holding up the other children. The entire Pointe-Claire Swim Club staff, swimmers and parents would cheer you on from the ground, encouraging you to jump. And you would try!

I cooked for him, finally. 3.5 years after we stopped dating, 3 months after we restarted talking. A meal made with care, made for him, made for us.  I wonder if he knows that I’ve never cooked for a guy before? Sure, there was my ex-boyfriend back in University, but that wasn’t cooking, that was an attempt to provide fuel for two bodies: how on earth my ex never spit out the tasteless calories I put before him remains a mystery.

Watching this ballet performed live at the Royal Opera House was a bucket list item.

The "why" behind this blog.