
I spent four lovely years at Stanford (more water, more books – Nerd Nation!), traveled around for a bit feeling very confused about my purpose in life, and then started coaching water polo and teaching high school English and creative writing. Somewhere in there I received my MFA in Creative Writing from the University of San Francisco, trained for an Ironman, fell in love and got married, and traveled to some very cool places.
Now I mostly make mac&cheese and do lots of laundry (ah, kids) and spend a lot of time in yoga pants, staring out the window (ah, the life of a writer). I still devour books. I am excited by all the amazing books that have been published since I was a kid, and I am delighted to be a part of that conversation. I am always inspired by teenagers – by their creativity and their quirkiness, and more than anything, by their unapologetic, energetic search for who they are. Remaining in this demographic in my career as a writer and a teacher keeps me humble and happy.
Quick Picks
- Favorite places: Camp Treetops in Lake Placid, NY and Kailua Beach in Hawaii.
- Favorite foods: sushi, scrambled eggs, and chocolate – obviously not all at once.
- Favorite movies: Star Wars – the original trilogy. Pretty Woman. Oceans Eleven.
- Favorite books: Never a fair question. The Feast of Love, by Charles Baxter; To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee; and The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (but only after teaching it at least 50 times).
- Other favorites: torrential rain, yummy chapstick, triathlons, feeding people, organizing stuff.