What Is a Taller? Inside the Oaxaca Workshops Where Alebrijes Are Carved

A taller is a family workshop, and in the alebrije villages of Oaxaca, it is where the whole craft lives. One generation teaches the next, and a single household can carry the entire process from a...

The Empty Nest: Grieving and Rediscovering Yourself When They Go

The empty nest is the quiet grief many parents feel when their children grow up and leave home. It is a real loss, the ache of a house gone still, and it can also be the beginning of rediscovering ...

What Día de Muertos in Mexico City Is Really Like, Two Trips Apart

Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, turns Mexico City into a sea of marigolds, towering altars, sugar skulls, and parades at the end of October and into early November. I went twice while researchi...

The Monarch Migration: The Butterflies That Return for Día de Muertos

Every fall, millions of monarch butterflies fly up to 3,000 miles from Canada and the United States to the mountain forests of central Mexico, arriving right around Día de Muertos, or Day of the De...

Why Marigolds? The Meaning of Cempasúchil in Día de Muertos

Marigolds, called cempasúchil in Mexico, are the flower of Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Their bright orange color and strong, earthy scent are believed to guide the spirits of loved ones bac...

Finding Your Spirit Animal: A Guide to the Symbolism

A spirit animal is a creature whose traits reflect something true about who you are, or who you are becoming. Across many cultures and centuries, animals have carried meaning as guides, protectors,...

A Book Club Guide to Monarch of the Heart: Themes and Questions

Monarch of the Heart was written to be talked about. It is a story about grief, love, and the courage to begin again, the kind of book that opens up conversation around a table. Whether you are rea...

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway: Why Growth Lives Outside Your Comfort Zone

Growth lives on the far side of fear. The moments that make us most uncomfortable, that make us feel too small, too exposed, or too big for the room, are almost always the ones stretching us into w...

The Story Behind the Courage Collection

The Courage Collection is a set of bracelets made to be worn on the days you need to remember how strong you actually are. I did not design these bracelets, but I chose every one of them and gave e...

Monarch of the Heart: The Story, the Release, and What's Coming

Monarch of the Heart is my debut novel, a sweeping story of grief, courage, and unexpected love set in Mexico City during Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead. It releases October 1 in ebook, paperba...