TWENTYONE OLIVE TREES is more than just a book. It is my personal journey of transformation portrayed as a collection of letters and poetry I wrote to my son Blaise, after his death. Before each of the letters, 21 fable narratives unfold, further illuminating this intimate look at coping with loss and acceptance that intrigues, inspires, and gives hope to readers looking for answers about life and death, and those who long to transform their grief into something beautiful.

Glow: “Coming Home”, recounts my journey of self-discovery throughout the African continent and how I learned to transform my suffering into highly positive vibes through the practice of Love in Action. After years of struggle and lack of self-direction, I reached a point where I knew that I had to let go of my old self, heal myself, become a blank page for life to write on, and to connect with the world on a larger wavelength––the wavelength of compassion and love.

Glow: “Sponsored”, tells heartfelt stories that speak to the positive impact of sponsorship and highlights expected and unexpected ways the experience has enriched the lives of everyone involved, including my own. Sponsorship is much more than a beautiful way to make a difference. It also teaches us that our differences aren’t that great. The more I work with different people in different countries all over the world, I realize just how similar we really are. We all need the same stuff––nourishing food to eat, a safe place to live, education, health, and the ability to pursue our unique strengths and talents. And it was this simple discovery that caused me to expand my sponsorship to more and more countries.

Sanctuary profiles animal rescue projects from around the world, including Costa Rica, Morocco and Puerto Rico. Although I had originally begun my own animal sanctuary project following the “How to start and run an animal sanctuary” workshop I took at Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah in 2014, life unexpectedly led me to explore how others have managed to operate their rescues instead. This is also a photographic journey since capturing moments in this way is particularly valuable to my personal artistic inquiry.