As an author and a psychologist, I am fascinated by how people survive—even thrive—when facing extreme adversity. I’ve encountered some unusual challenges myself during the last dozen years, including becoming a mother while living in a tiny town in Northern Laos, having my husband diagnosed with cancer when both our children were under 3, moving our family to Vanuatu just weeks before the country was decimated by a Category 5 cyclone, and—most challenging of all—parenting a neurodiverse child. As a psychologist, I work to help others understand stress and trauma, and to thrive in their own challenging roles and contexts. I am the Senior Training Advisor for The KonTerra Group – a consulting firm that specializes in supporting aid and development workers in high-stress and high-threat environments. Among other things, I teach, speak, and write about stress and burnout, psychological safety when working with graphic content, vicarious trauma, and building resilience in high-threat environments. As an author, I write because I must—because nothing else helps me understand life and myself better than putting pen to paper and being honest. I've published a novel (My Hands Came Away Red), a memoir (Love At The Speed Of Email), a number of books and guides for couples in long distance relationships and numerous personal essays and articles. I'm currently working on a book about parenting demand avoidance.