Book Title: A Nerd Life
Topic: Depression & suicidal ideations
Description: My story is one of pain, suffering, avoidance, addiction, medication, therapy & resolve. Come hear my story of how it all began and how it’s going.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Book Title: From Slate to Screen
Topic: Immigration, technology, computer science
Description: It’s difficult to imagine just how much the world has changed technologically, and how much that has changed the way we live and what it means to cross cultures. My own experience started in rural India (using a slate a chalk) and ended up as a professor of computer science. Come hear my story, and ask me questions about what it was like to not have the technologies we have now, and also feel free to ask me how they work and how they were developed!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Book Title: Life on the Weird Side
Topic: Living with Autism, Dyslexia, and PTSD
Description: When people meet me for the first time for less than 15 minutes, everything goes great; however, after that period of time is where things get weird. I have been described as: Loud, rude, aggressive, too honest with no filter, smothering, obnoxious, “TOO HELPFUL,” and just treated as an unwanted presence in a space. Unfortunately, being rejected has been apart of my entire life. I have learned to accept it and focus on experiences. I have traveled extensively to 33 countries, even though I dropped out of 10th grade; I managed to attain several degrees, I have served as an AmeriCorps VISTA, and been a single mom to an autistic son. When various communities, educational institutions, or companies speak about inclusivity and diversity, it has been my experience that only applies to people they like. My advice to anyone struggling with this issue, “Be a BULL in the CHINA SHOP and Stay WEIRD!”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Book Title: Nothing is Insurmountable
Topic: Facing adversity, and MOSTLY winning
Description: Oftentimes, as we are growing, others put expectations and narratives onto a child. “They are just like…, I bet they will…” Recognizing that these don’t have to be your story can be really hard. Add onto that, the intricate layers of individual choice and experience, and it can be easy to get lost in expectations, and self doubt. It has been my personal experience to break out of these many expectations and live a life that is fully and entirely mine. Bible school, military, being queer, traveling the world, none of these were expected of me, and yet here I stand. Some of the most adverse times and experiences of my life have led to a colorful and blessed experience, and it is only starting.
Some of my biggest obstacles have come from childhood, the way in which I was brought onto this earth and my time in the military. These parts of my journey have shaped the woman before you. My defining moments have been unexpected and usually in the monotony of living “daily life.” Speaking up for and advocacy has been in my bones since childhood, and I have been fortunate to be a voice for many, when they may have not had one otherwise.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Book Title: Challenging Conservation
Topic: Conservation; Marine Life
Description: As a marine conservationist, one of the most difficult aspects of the job is combatting preconceived ideas and prejudices others have about what we do and how we work. Most commonly, this becomes a problem when trying to set up local events or soliciting volunteers; we are oftentimes dismissed
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Book Title: Riding Reindeer: Anthropology and Adventure with the Reindeer Herders of Mongolia
Topic: World Travel; Mongolia
Description: As an anthropologist, I have spent years learning the ropes and reins from the Dukha, a remote group of nomadic reindeer-herding hunter-gatherers. I’ll share some of the indigenous knowledge I gained from them and stories of living in a tepee, tracking moose, and avoiding bears… and the border patrol!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Book Title: Pieces of God
Topic: Mother Wounds, Mental Health, Trauma
Description: So many carry unresolved mother wounds that interrupt emotional and mental development and through which they parent their children. It’s time that we had an authentic discussion about mother wounds without the shame and guilt that gets locked in our bodies through rage and anger. We naturalize the emotion of anger and how it is critical for self-compassion and forgiveness
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title: Marinating with Grace
Topic: Incorporating Triumphs and Challenges
Description: Some people believe to be human is to suffer. One of those people is my mother. With that idea infused into the gumbo of my early life, I saw how core beliefs could fundamentally shape your life. I watched most adults around me struggle to survive. So I swore to be different. I've spent most of my adult life learning another way to be human. One that tries to savor the sweet with the bitter in order to have a full life. I learned how to appreciate the salt and sour of life to create a life well-loved and relished. : I'm still mastering allowing life to stir the pot without guiding the spoon or adding more spices into the mix. Hopefully when you check out my story, you can share your recipe for a successful life.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Book Title: Be(lieve in) Yourself?
Topic: Race, gender, class, age, overcoming barriers
Description: People never believe my recollections of earlier times when being myself and believing in myself was discouraged, by society or otherwise. Despite navigating aggressions around race, gender, class, and age before reaching adulthood, challenging experiences helped shape my mission-based life and music-inspired work that has inspired others.
