Greetings! Welcome to my first post on Substack

Time for a shift, a new platform, and some fun possibilities

Some of you subscribed to the Dare to be Fabulous blog and are fans of the book. Some of you receive posts about Six Car Lengths Behind an Elephant, my mother’s entertaining CIA memoir, which I edited. Others are friends and colleagues. And more of you are now Substack readers and subscribers. Hello to all!

For some time, I’ve been wanting to write about a variety of topics without feeling constrained by the theme of my blog or published books. Mind you, I’ve found that the spirit of Dare to be Fabulous truly does apply to almost anything we do or consider, but I’m also excited to explore some of the creative possibilities that Substack offers, including audio, video, co-authoring, and more.

I chose this photo of a path through the woods as my “logo” image for In This Life, because I find mountain paths like this to be alluring and beautifully metaphorical. You may walk along your chosen (and natural) path with intention and purpose, but you never know what you’ll discover around each bend. Also, hiking and nature are where I find solace, so this photo seems fitting. (It was taken at The Forest of Nisene Marks.)

On this site, you’ll find links to some of my published writing (under About.) Among future posts, I would like to share some intriguing facts I learned from two extended learning classes I took at Duke University. One class was titled “Our Invisible, Connected World,” which covered the brain, quantum physics, psychedelics, and the microbiome (I loved, loved, loved that class) and the other was titled “Think Again,” which was all about the human brain. Both were taught by the same wonderful professor.

Aside from being a freelance writer and editor, I am many things, as we all are. I’m a professional actor and the daughter of a spy (I grew up all over the world) and a vegan advocate and an avid hiker (the Eastern Sierra is my Eden) and the wife of a talented residential architect and and and . . . . suffice it to say, there is a lot of material to draw from. (And yes, that run-on sentence was intended.)

So, that’s it. Just wanted to say hi, I’m here! I hope you’ll subscribe and comment and share and recommend and all that jazz. I’d like that.