Most recently, I developed a serious attachment to MuRasta. MuRasta was the affectionate name of our overland truck that ferried us across Africa on my Cape Town to Zanzibar tour with Intrepid Travel. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I stepped foot on the truck on day one. I had searched for info about what these trucks were like, but I…
“In my toughest years of learning and growing, my opportunities for a sober mother to lean on for support and advice were almost entirely absent. Except for Betty.”
The first trip I decided to take was to Cold War Russia. And, as I search my ‘way back’ memory, I’m not entirely sure why I wanted to go there. Perhaps it was because I was 18-years-old and absolutely gagging for an experience that would blow my socks off. Deeper than that, I have always, since my earliest memories, desired to go where people don’t usually go.
We hear about everything from war and terrorism to religious extremism and denial of woman’s rights. If those are the only stories that reach us, then, of course, we are going to think that the Middle East isn’t a place to explore. But, I have a different story to tell – a love story.
Okay. Can we get real about the Okavango Delta for a moment? Full disclosure: the Okavango Delta in Botswana was my #2 fear on my Cape Town to Zanzibar trip through Southern Africa. The #1 spot was occupied by lions, but, I do have an incredible penchant for the dramatic. I had a number of fears, mostly surrounding those little flat-bottomed canoes that were…
How does one tell their dad that they want to move to a run-down, conservative, Muslim, Bedouin village located in the hot bed of world conflict, where she doesn’t speak the language or have a place to live?
This story was shortlisted for the CBC Nonfiction Prize 2017. Everyone died. The significant ones. My first boyfriend, my brother, my mom, my dad, my Danish host parents, all four grandparents, my best friend. The roots of my tree. My tribe. Death by suicide, impaired driver, cancer, broken hearts. Gone. Gained? 100 lbs. It was Krista, my best friend, on the phone…
“Leopard.” He said it so quietly that I almost missed it. I was leaning out the side of the safari truck, gazing at the night sky spilling over with stars. The gurgle of the engine and the constant rocking had almost lulled me to sleep. It had been about 30 minutes since we had seen an animal of note, and that was…
