E S S A Y S
A HIKER'S GUIDE TO HEALING
Modern Love, The New York Times
Feeling shame and needing to be alone in the aftermath of a rape, I walked — and walked — searching for peace. This essay is the story of my 2,650-mile solo-hike, from Mexico to Canada.
GOING BACK TO THE PLACE WHERE I WAS RAPED
Women In The World / The New York Times
This essay appeared in The New York Times, in the Women in the World section. In the summer of 2015, Colorado College invited me to return to campus to speak publicly about the rape the college had previously denied. This essay is about what happened when I went back.
TWO MINUTE MEMOIR: THE NEWLYWED EXAMINATION Psychology Today
Justin was the quiet presence who helped me heal from sexual assault. So why wasn't I fighting the accusations against him?
ON JOHN MUIR'S "TRAVELS IN ALASKA"
Tin House
Wandering sidewalks, pacing my town's central garden, I felt like a caged cub. I feared I'd be forever stuck in an artless world, until a slim old book I found banished that notion. The paperback was Travels in Alaska.
I SALUTE THE COURAGE OF COSBY'S ACCUSERS
New York Daily News
I was thrilled to hear that comedian Bill Cosby was finally arraigned, after being accused of rape by dozens of women. I know from personal experience how hard it is to prosecute sexual predators.
THE WAY THROUGH
The Walrus
On my second night of college, I was raped. This is what my long walk taught me, everything I wish I'd known.
BOOK NOTES
Largehearted Boy
I was "ultralight," surviving within wildernesses by my own intelligence and strength. I set of on my hike with just eleven pounds of gear in my backpack: a tent, provisions — and a little royal purple iPod Nano. Even in my monkish minimalism, I knew I needed music. Songs weigh nothing. I carried more than a thousand, all that I wanted to hear.