Your Partner Will Affect…
The Truth About My Inner Critic: It Was Trauma Talking
“I will not let the bullies and critics of my early life win by joining and agreeing with them.” ~Pete Walker
For most of my life, there was a voice in my head that narrated everything I did, and it was kind of an a**hole.
You know the one. That voice that jumps in before you even finish a thought:
“Don’t say that. You’ll sound stupid.”
“Why would anyone care what you think?”
“You’re too much. You’re not enough. You’re a mess.”
No matter what I did, the critic had notes. Brutal ones. And the worst part? I believed every …
The Surprising Freedom in Not Having Life All Figured Out
“Sometimes you have to let go of the life you planned to make room for the life that’s waiting for you.” ~Joseph Campbell
My new motto? Always have a backup plan.
Life rarely goes as you’d imagined.
January 16th, 2001. That’s the day my life trajectory changed irrevocably. That’s the day that would lead me to, eventually, living alone—to being divorced. That’s the day my ex had a ski accident that changed the lives of every member of our immediate family. But today, I don’t want to talk about him or that. I want to talk about my …
Why AI Can Never Replace Us: The Truth About Being Human
“AI accidentally made me believe in the concept of a human soul by showing me what art looks like without it.” ~Unknown
What is intelligence?
I’ve asked this question all my life—as a teacher, a filmmaker, a researcher, and now, as someone losing my vision to macular degeneration.
I ask it when I watch students find their voice.
I ask it when I listen to a close friend of mine, a world-renowned cosmologist, whose knowledge seems limitless but whose humility runs even deeper. He can discuss black holes one minute and quote the Tao Te Ching the next. He doesn’t …
Brilliant, Not Broken: A Powerful Reframe for Neurodivergence
“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.” ~Audre Lorde
For most of my life, I asked myself a quiet question:
What’s wrong with me?
I didn’t say it out loud. I didn’t have to. It was stitched into how I moved through the world — hyperaware, self-correcting, and always just a little out of step. I knew how to “pass” in the right settings, but never without effort. Underneath it all, I was exhausted by the daily performance of normal.
Looking back, it’s clear where it started.
I …
Could Curiosity Be the Best Medicine for Chronic Illness?
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” ~Henry Ford
We’ve all been there: happily ticking off life’s checkboxes, certain we’ve cracked the code, until—bam!—life decides otherwise. Divorce papers, layoffs, grief, or unexpected illness—life’s curveballs don’t discriminate.
For me, it was a sudden mystery illness at sixteen. What should have been a simple infection changed the trajectory of my entire life. Doctors were at a loss, tests offered no answers, and I was left navigating an uncertain reality, desperately clinging to control as my lifeline.
One day I’m cheering at the Friday night football …
When Someone You Love Shuts the Door
“It is one thing to lose people you love. It is another to lose yourself. That is a greater loss.” ~Donna Goddard
We didn’t mean to fall into anything romantic. It started as friendship, collaboration, long voice notes about work, life, trauma, and healing. We helped each other solve problems. We gave each other pep talks before difficult meetings. He liked to say I had good instincts; I told him he had grit.
We shared vulnerabilities like flashlights in the dark—he told me about getting into fights, going to jail, losing jobs because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. I
The 2026 Tiny Buddha Day-to-Day Calendar is Now Available!
Hi friends! I’m excited to share that the 2026 Tiny Buddha Day-to-Day Calendar is now available for purchase! And equally thrilling, I just found out my calendar was the number one bestseller in the Mind-Body-Spirit category for the last two years.
Uplifting and comforting, this calendar offers daily reflections from me, Tiny Buddha contributors, and other authors whose quotes have inspired and encouraged me.
Featuring colorful, patterned tear-off pages, the calendar is printed on FSC certified paper with soy-based ink. Topics include happiness, love, relationships, change, meaning, mindfulness, self-care, letting go, and more.
Here’s what Amazon reviewers had to say
The Unexpected Way Jiu-Jitsu Brought Me Back to Myself
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are.” ~Maya Angelou
There was a time in my life when everything felt heavy, like I was constantly carrying around a weight that no one else could see.
I wasn’t in a crisis, exactly. I was functioning, showing up, doing what needed to be done. But inside, I was struggling to stay afloat—trapped in my own head, questioning my worth, and unsure how to move forward.
One evening, I walked into a Brazilian …
My Daughter Needed Me to Choose Better, So I Did
“Children learn more from what you are than what you teach.” ~W.E.B. Du Bois
I was standing at the service bar, waiting for my drink order to be ready. The scent of steak fat clinging to my apron and infusing itself into my bra, while twenty-something servers around me whined about working on Mother’s Day… yet I was the only mother working that night.
I’d barely slept because I’d closed the restaurant the night before.
My nine-year-old daughter had just told me she wished she were dead.
And here I was, pretending to care about side plates and drink refills …
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