My memoir, Toward the Light: A Year in Paris (in progress), is the story of a young woman at the intersection of adolescence and adulthood when she is sexually assaulted, catapulting her onto a new path. The book explores how healing begins after trauma and invites readers along on my search for meaning, community, and connection in the aftermath of rape.

Speaking / Interviews:

Des Moines Book Festival | May 2026 | Panel: “Making the Leap from Reader to Writer: How Ordinary People Become Storytellers”

Des Moines Storytellers Project | February 2024 | Creating Community in the Aftermath of Rape | sponsored by the Des Moines Register | live audience of more than 1,200 | Podcast Episode

Writing Your Resilience with Lisa Cooper Ellison | Strategies for Navigating Traumatic Memories

Essays & Published Pieces

“Scaled: What We Gain, What We Lose,” bioStories, September 2025

“Writing the Hard Scenes,” Brevity Blog, October 2024

“One Assault Survivor’s Story of Finding Peace Without Justice,” Des Moines Sunday Register, April 2023.

Anthology Contributions

“Fireweed,” Ember & Vine Nonfiction, eds. Julie Cantrell & Janyre Tromp (fall 2026).

“Befriending Beth Ann,” This Is Not Your Mother’s Eating Disorder: An Anthology, ed. Amie Newman (forthcoming).

“Beauty,” Summer: Women’s Writings for the Season of Beauty and Resilience, ed. Debra Landwehr Engle and Diane Glass (2013)

“Letting Go,” Fall: Women’s Stories and Poems for the Season of Wisdom and Gratitude, ed. Engle & Glass (2013)

“Running” and “Love,” Spring: Women’s Inspiration for the Season of Hope and New Beginnings, ed. Engle & Glass (2013)

Awards & Recognitions

“Disappearing: A Recipe for Anorexia Nervosa,” Top 10, Women on Writing Q3 2026 Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest.

“A Baker’s Dozen: Thirteen Perspectives on Anorexia,” 7th Place, 2024 Writer’s Digest Personal Essay Awards.

“You Can Still Call Them Friends: A Letter to My Younger Self,” Finalist, Women on Writing Q2 2024 Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest.

“Finding Peace Without Justice,” Finalist, Women on Writing Q4 2023 Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest.

“Heart Song: A Pandemic Story,” Finalist, Women on Writing Q2 2023 Creative Non-fiction Essay Contest

“Vision,” Notable Essay, Memoir Magazine #MeToo contest (2018)

Academic Writing

“Beautiful to Behold: Intercultural, Evidence-Based, Socially Just Spiritual Care for Female Survivors of Sexual Violence,” MTS thesis, Iliff School of Theology (2019)