Two Autumns

Two Autumns was my M.A. thesis at Johns Hopkins. It is a series of essays exploring themes in travel, nature, conservation, memory, and identity.

Amberley, New Zealand

'Room to Rent'

Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature (2026)

'The fact that I was in New Zealand remained intangible. Sometimes the chasm of time and space in front of me felt like it was within, an emptiness that could be filled with disaster as easily as adventure. I guess that was what happened when you took the reins, and anyway, there were more intimidating things to have in front of you than a year of travelling alone, but I didn’t think about those things back then.'

Read 'Room to Rent' online

This is a photo from Miyazu Japanese Garden in Nelson, New Zealand. It depicts a path of square and rectangular stones going through a shallow waterway, surrounded by green lily pads.

Kyoto, Japan

'City of Leaves'

The Common Online (2023)

'And so putting memories into words becomes another form of loss. In trying to preserve what we know, we forfeit the beloved, fragile myth.'

Read 'City of Leaves' online

Arthur's Pass, New Zealand

'Kea Call'

Panorama: The Journal of Travel, Place, and Nature (2025) – originally published in Paperbark (2023)

'I’d thought it would feel light to move around with nothing but a backpack, liberating to follow my own agenda, but instead I found myself searching for something solid to grasp onto, like a clear path into the clouds.'

Read 'Kea Call' online

'Kea Call' received the Bronze Award in the Animal Encounter category of the 2024 Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing

This is a photo of a kea, which is an alpine parrot, spreading its wings on a green rooftop. The kea has a light brown head, soft green feathers, and shows orange feathers beneath its wings. Another kea sits on a lower-level roof, looking up at the first. The background is an olive green mountainside. The photo was taken in Arthur’s Pass, New Zealand.

This is a photo of Bilbo's home from the Hobbiton movie set in Matamata, New Zealand. It depicts a home with a beige facade and brick-lined, round windows, set in a green hillside with a round, evergreen door.

Los Angeles, California, and Auckland, New Zealand

'To Auckland'

TulipTree Review (2021)

'What would I see when the sun came up? Now that I had finally left, who would I be?'

Purchase TulipTree Review

'To Auckland' received an honorable mention in TulipTree's 2021 Wild Women writing contest

Routeburn Track, New Zealand

'Routeburn' – Long-listed for the 2021 Fish Publishing Short Memoir Prize

'Landscape Images' – Long-listed for the 2026 Anthology Personal Memoir Award

These essays are being revised.

This is a photo of a narrow, dirt and rock walking trail winding alongside a grey lake on a foggy day. The trail is cut into a steep mountainside that shows grey rock and golden tussock. The location is Harris Saddle on Routeburn Track, New Zealand.

Images on this page: Miyazu Japanese Garden in Nelson, New Zealand; Daitoku-ji in Kyoto, Japan; the kea in Arthur's Pass, New Zealand; Hobbiton movie set in Matamata, New Zealand; Harris Saddle on Routeburn Track, New Zealand. All images are my own and cannot be used without my express permission.