I had a nightmare two nights before my reading at Village Books in Bellingham. The microphone wasn’t working and the venue had to be moved outdoors. Just as we were ready to begin, I suddenly realized I had forgotten my computer. And that would have been dreadful; I would have no slide show, and nowhere to divert attention off of me and me alone. I woke up. And I had to...

Last night the five of us ate dinner at my parents’ house, and both my parents commented again, as they have several times since Home is a Roof was published, at how different the book is from the manuscript they read early on. “How many edits did you go through?” my dad asked. Over the several years it has taken this book to be first lived, then journaled, shaped...

    Six years ago we moved to China. I was so overwhelmed trying to make sense of everything I was experiencing that I just had to write it down. I needed an outlet. I emailed my jottings to many of my family and friends, and they graciously replied that they enjoyed my writing. Some of them even suggested that I write a book. Well, I did. And I sent it off to...

    My brother got married in Puerto Rico, and timing and finances dictated that we could not fly home to Washington State before heading to the wedding, but instead needed to grade final exams in Beijing and then get on a flight for San Juan. When Chris heard that our layover would be in New York, he had a brilliant suggestion: why not stop for a few days so...