a little more about me

Born and raised in Seattle in a multiracial family, I grew up speaking both English and Chinese. After attending Garfield High School, I studied for two years at Macalester College, and later earned my BA from The Evergreen State College. In my early twenties, I traveled to China, the birthplace of my mother, where I lived, wrote, and taught English for several years. Upon returning to the U.S., I knew I wanted to write. I obtained my MFA from Antioch University Los Angeles, mentoring under Brenda Miller and others, and then started teaching creative nonfiction workshops. In 2010, I gave birth to my son, embarking on a journey that would teach me so much about my fierce love, my commitment to my writing, as well as the ways I’ve inherited intergenerational patterns and trauma.

Teaching and supporting others in their artistic and spiritual paths gives me the greatest joy. In 2021, I published my first book, Heart Radical: A Search for Language, Love, and Belonging, and also released a spoken word/electronic music collaboration with Dave Belben aka Shady Planets, Learning to Speak: Songs from the Heart Radical, available on Spotify, Youtube, etc. We released our second album, None of Us Exist Alone, in 2025, and continue to collaborate and experiment together.

I love being quiet in nature, dancing, reading, walking, listening to music, singing, collaborating, and collaging. Creating community and helping to forge connections between people is a huge part of my calling. As is fighting for democracy and justice through art and creative expression. The world needs our stories more than ever. I’d love to hear from you.

A note on my writing and teaching

It took me a long time to learn to trust in my voice. For most of my life, I’ve longed to feel more seen and heard. Writing became the way I learned to witness myself, and, then, in developing a regular practice over two decades, I learned to take small steps towards sharing my voice more with others too. I write of deeply personal matters, yet I don't see myself as especially courageous. The more I practice writing and sharing, the less afraid I feel, and the easier it becomes to accept my full self—weaknesses and all. I wish the same for others. 

My writing examines my many layers of identity and inherited legacies of silence, secrecy, and shame. Questions around race, belonging, uncertainty, complexity, paradox, impermanence, self-compassion, motherhood, love, and longing also fuel my work.  Some of my favorite authors include: adrienne maree brown, Lidia Yuknavitch, Victoria Chang, Terry Tempest Williams, Rebecca Solnit, bell hooks, Ross Gay, Ada Limon, Naomi Shihab Nye, Ocean Vuong, and many more.

As a teacher and co-learner, I encourage others to celebrate their unique voice and intimate stories, and to welcome deep listening. After teaching workshops for 15 years, in 2020 I launched my online Yearlong Creative Nonfiction Manuscript Program for Women and Non-binary Writers. In 2022, I took part in the Embodied Social Justice Certificate Program created by Rev. angel Kyodo Williams, as a part of my commitment to bringing a more trauma-informed and anti-racist lens to my teaching— an always-evolving process. In recent years I’ve studied with great folks like Karine Bell, Leticia Nieto, and Weena Pauly-Tarr at Rooted Global Village, seeking to bring a more embodied awareness into my practices. I am especially invigorated by my being in community with mixed-race people via my annual workshop, “Both/And: Reading and Writing the Mixed-Race Experience,” and for the forthcoming Both/And anthology that was inspired by this class.

I hope everyone can experience how liberating it is to share our vulnerable truths, and to realize how we all hunger for authentic connection. At core, we all seek to be seen and heard. We are so much more alike than we realize when it comes to our basic human desires and emotions— and, it’s also essential to be able to name and embrace our differences.