Why We Write
“The natural writer is the one who is always writing; if only in his head-sizing up a situation for material, collecting impressions.” I seek out people to interview, new places to visit, stories to share, all the while feeling off balance and a bit loco. “You develop an extra sense that partly excludes you from […]
Trying to Tackle “New” Sport Snowshoeing
If you can walk, you can snowshoe. Sure! Snowshoeing in the Swiss Mountains makes me feel like Donald Duck waddling on the side of an iceberg in webbed feet. Forget CrossFit, yoga, and aerobics. The ultimate work out is snowshoeing. Each step forward feels like lifting a ton. Though snowshoeing was invented in 6000BC, it […]
Old Friends Forever Family
Girlfriends get us through tough times, celebrate our victories and always got our back. In our senior year at Illinois State University, I shared a townhouse off campus with five friends. We called ourselves family. Ever loyal fans, they supported me my final season of college basketball that began badly with a back injury. Frustrated […]
My Bucket List for Midwest
I left the Midwest 43 yrs ago, but I didn’t move to the glamorous coasts – Boston, NYC, LA – nooo I flew across the Big Pond, landed in Paris and picked up a Frenchman. Reading The Midwest Survival Guide: How We Talk, Love, Work, Drink and Eat…Everything With Ranch by Charlie Berens, a comedian […]
I am
X-Pat, a feisty globetrotter. Teacher, writer, coach, speaker, and trailblazer with the down-to-earth, open-armed persona of The Heartland and a European twist. I have lived in four different countries, speak three languages and raised two bi-cultural kids with one très bon Frenchman. My passion is inspiring courage, breaking barriers, and creating connections.
Down and out? Hopeless and helpless? No matter where you are in your journey, my stories can help pick up your spirits, make transitions, gain new perspectives or just escape the daily grind.
If you deny a woman’s history, you erase her identity. I reveal the athlete’s untold story, from the passage of Title IX through forty years of social change. What makes it different from other sport biographies is the voice of a woman who walks the talk, who dribbled the ball and tells the story. Learn more by clicking here