Last night, at 9:55, in a hospital room in Portland, my father took his last breath. I was sitting beside him on his bed. Shameem was standing beside him, my dear friend Nancy Boutin was with him. Nancy is a palliative care doctor and she knows about death, and she… Read More
Me at the top of Abiqua Falls in 1994, in the midst of a battle to save the surrounding trees from being clear cut It is my fifty-fifth birthday today. And for my fifty-fifth birthday, I plan to hike to the base of Abiqua Falls. I plan to stand naked… Read More
I was honored to be asked to contribute to a new book that just came out this week entitled LIVE, LOVE AND FORGIVE, Insights from Artists, edited by Justin St. Vincent in cooperation with The Fetzer Institute. The new book is filled with short essays from musicians, film makers, photographers, writers,… Read More
On Good Friday I found a vulture lying in the middle of the road, wings spread wide as if crucified. Blood pooled under its belly. And I wondered about the meaning: a dead vulture on Good Friday, its brethren circling overhead. A day hallowed by people around the globe, heads… Read More
They are everywhere. What Downtown Abbey Character are you? What Superhero? Font? There is even one to help you discover – get this – “What Arbitrary Thing Are You?” Really? Are we that fricking board? Self absorbed? Lost? What? You know I was in Guatemala last week, and I did… Read More
Lauren Artess and Naseem Rakha, Fetzer Institute, 2010 I flew to Oakland today to spend the weekend with three women I met four years ago at a Fetzer Institute retreat for writers examining the subject of love and forgiveness. My friends are bright, funny, and wonderful people doing the important work… Read More