The Overlap

If this pink platform Croc had a theme song, it would be, "I'm a Survivor." A few months ago in Berlin, a woman walking next to me, fell down the stairs leading to the train. I immediately rushed down to assist her. To my surprise she seemed frightened of me—as if I was going to rob her. I shared the incident with a friend wondering if racism was at play—but they remarked, “People in Berlin are not used to getting help. That’s probably why she freaked out!” Every now and then

At age 19, I came to Germany for the first time for a summer language program in Freiburg. There was a wheelchair user from France in my course. Every afternoon, we had a listening lab in the basement of some random building on campus. She would often ask someone to carry her wheelchair, while she crawled down the stairs by herself. She did this without complaining—like it was something she was used to—not having access. Witnessing the lack of accessibility that summer staye

There's a particular ache that arrives with the holiday season, uninvited but expected. The holidays have a way of making empty spaces feel enormous. Maybe the people you're missing are gone forever. Maybe they're across an ocean you can't afford to cross this year. Maybe the fear of dealing with immigration authorities and visa denials has kept you from home so long that you've stopped counting. Maybe the distance isn't measured in miles but in silence, in relationships that

Special shout-out to the Black Berlin FLINTAs Wine Group for the community and the conversation that inspired this week’s post. There's a particular scene that plays out across television and film with remarkable consistency: a Black woman sits across from a troubled character, her face a mask of professional composure and infinite patience. She listens, she validates, she guides. She is the therapist—wise, nurturing, unshakeable. What we rarely see is her own session, her ow

Advent and the Art of Holy Waiting As we enter the season of Advent, Christians around the world practice the ancient discipline of waiting. We light candles week by week, marking time until the celebration of Christ's birth. It's a season that asks us to sit with longing, to hold space for hope in the midst of darkness, and to believe that something sacred can break through into our ordinary lives at any moment. But what happens when the waiting becomes forced? When those me

Protecting yourself from the workplace stalker viewing your social media

We're living through the fracturing of public life. Democratic institutions feel unstable. Climate disasters are accelerating. Social safety nets are fraying or defunded. The pandemic shattered many of our third places—libraries, community centers, churches, the informal gathering spots where strangers became neighbors. Shout out to the community members bringing life back to those spaces. Meanwhile, tech platforms profit. Algorithms feed us rage and fear because angry, scare

Somewhere between leaving corporate America and joining the Peace Corps, someone gave me their copy of The Spiritual Teachings of Marcus Aurelius by Mark Forstater. That’s when I began my journey to being unbothered—and for the record it still feels like I am at the beginning of the road.  Nearly two thousand years ago, Marcus Aurelius (M.A.) ruled the Roman Empire while dealing with plague, war, and political backstabbing. Yet in his private journal—what we now call Meditati

There's a particular kind of homesickness that hits you in the most unexpected places. For me, it's standing in the fluorescent-lit aisles of Rewe during the Saturday buying frenzy (the majority of German grocery stores are closed on Sundays), staring at €4.99 hummus, when it dawns on me: my favorite German grocery store is 3,900 miles away in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. I'm talking about Trader Joe's, of course. The Family Tree No One Talks About Let me blow your mind if you d

Kendra Valentine, story strategist extraordinaire, just released How to Pitch Almost Anything —and it might be the most practical book on communication you can add to your lifekit.  When I first met Kendra and discussed her new book, I automatically started thinking about all the entrepreneurs, salespeople, consultants, and so on, who could gain value from it. We've all been there: standing in front of a room (or a Zoom screen) trying to convince someone of something importan