Life Lately

Things I am currently obsessed with and how important fallen trees feel

May 25, 2025

Half a life is a life you didn't live,
A word you have not said
A smile you postponed
A love you have not had
A friendship you did not know
To reach and not arrive…
You are not half a being
You are a whole that exists to live a life
not half a life.
— Khalil Gibran

I am not here to live half a life.

I spent a weekend hiking the Bibbulmun Track near Balingup in Western Australia with Kip from Natural Perspectives. I wanted to learn how to hike and camp (a threshold for me) and my intention was to be spontaneous.

The headline is: I slept in a forest with no tent for the first time in my life, and the moon moves.

It’s how I want to spend every weekend.

Kip is a living legend who has ~ humble flex ~ hiked the Bibbulmun solo (1000km, 7 weeks, one of the longest walking trails in the world) THREE TIMES. And he is 31 years old.

So much magic happened. Fire divination. Tea on a misty morning. Visiting a 400-year-old Grandmother oak tree. The scent of the forest mixed with pheromones. Cowboy camping. Being woken up by a didgeridoo playing. Waking up our bodies with Qi Gong. Mama’s minestrone soup. SNACKS. Courting the dark. Channelling book chapters. And having a conversation with the silence and getting an unanswerable question from the forest.

Naturally, I packed Celtic sea salt because this gal needs her carbs well seasoned.

Once you taste soul freedom, you will never forget it.

That is a thought that came to me on the trail.

Also:

I cannot be contained.

I will not.

Said the forest.

Kip offers 3-day Way of The Serpent guided hiking adventures through to the end of Spring (wildflower season!) — highly recommend for a nature reboot.

On the way there, I visited the only hawthorn trees in WA at Golden Valley Tree Park and harvested a small amount for ceremony. Oh, to be reunited with huath! I searched the whole property. When I spotted the leaves and a few hawberries, I ran over to them squealing, like seeing an old friend again.

I also can’t stop thinking about a line that I read in the trail book that people can write in at the huts dotted along the Bibbulmun:

I like how important fallen trees feel.

So do I, fellow soul.

So do I.

WRITING

I finally finished my deep dive into a divine and deeply misunderstood female archetype — A Witch Is A Wise Woman.

The other part of my life lately is writing my book proposal.

I did a Book Proposal Masterclass with Penny Wincer and realised two things: my book is a narrative memoir (I’ve been saying it’s ‘narrative non-fiction’) and I have to polish the first ten thousand words FIRST.

So that is what I am currently doing. Help me Rhonda. Every writing of the book leads to rewriting, and also the P words (theme of my book) keep coming.

A new friend on the hike asked me what my book is about, and I said:

“It’s about questions that didn’t get answered.

And answers to questions I didn’t ask for.”

That was a spontaneous answer.

My hope and aim is to finish the ten thousand words and book proposal in June/July (I’m already tired) and start looking for an agent in July/August.

I went to a talk with Irish writer Colm Toibin today, and he said one of the greatest challenges as a young writer is: “How to control your weekend and not make your friends an enemy.” I RELATE. He also gave me a brilliant idea for how I’m going to approach editing: “Print it out and sit down like a reader with a lot of time.” Writing is getting to the point of who you are.

The role of the artist is exactly the same as the role of the lover. If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don't see.
— James Baldwin

READING

Okay, this is what you came for:

Wild Dark Shore — I ran to the library when this arrived. I’ve somehow become obsessed with literary thrillers thanks to Charlotte McConaghy. Set on an island off Tasmania, I was enthralled, aghast, and it got steamy.
The Madonna Secret — The historical fiction story of Yessuah (Jesus) and Miriam (Mary Magdalene) by Sophie Strand that illuminates their mystical, healing and deeply erotic connection. Jesus was a babe.
We Are The Stars — Gina Chick had me crying into my breakfast on several occasions in this incredibly moving tale of being your full self.
Something In The Woods Loves You — I ordered this purely based on the poetic title, and the writing had me awed from the get-go. A memoir blending observations on nature and the internal struggles of a deep and dark depression.

Kindness won’t make you rich, but it will make you whole.
— Jarod K. Anderson

How To Love Better — I first came across Yung Pueblo’s book Inward in my friend Ange’s bedroom in Portland a hundred (ten) years ago. Yung has learnt many more things in the last decade, and this book is about the honesty, self-awareness and growth needed for healthy relationships.
The God Of The Woods — The woods-themed bender continues. This book is a voracious page-turner; I could have cancelled all plans to read this literary thriller as I needed to know who killed the boy called Bear.
The Sirens — This is the next book from the author of Weyward (one of my top fiction books of 2025), featuring two sets of sisters, centuries apart in Ireland and the coast of New South Wales, Australia. Chilling.
It Begins With You — Every time Jillian Turecki pops up with a white tile and profound relationship advice on my feed, I am convinced she is mining my subconscious and writing for me. This is her first book.
The Signature Of All Things — Elizabeth Gilbert is my writing yardstick. It occurred to me I’d never read her weighty fictional book on moss, love and loss. I marvelled at how a human life can contain so much texture.

LISTENING

SABLE fABLE — I am never not slow-grooving to Justin Vernon’s new album. My life goal is to live inside a Bon Iver song. I held a listening party for the launch, and two people came. It ended up being one of the most intimate, expanding and satisfying nights in recent memory. There were audible wows, instant goosebumps, and we had a TWO HOUR discussion between Part 1 and Part 2. Standouts: There’s A Rhythmn (obsessed the second I heard it), SPEYSIDE (you will have my heart forever) and From (PERFECTION). When Justin soothingly sings, “You now can just be yourself, from now on,” I melt into a puddle. Part 2 is a very different sound for longtime listeners, but Justin is growing. Just is evolving. LET HIM. Side question: Who is the woman in fABLE? The rumour mill went crazy when the record sleeve came with a stunt picture of Justin with a wife and baby. The best comment I saw online was: “Justin is already our heavenly father. He has plenty of children.” GOLD. I know Justine doesn’t like praise, but I have no feedback at this point, and my body has disappeared into the rhythm of his creation.

Amble — This is the band I am on a quest to introduce to everyone I know. A trio of Irish lads, the moment I heard Mariner Boy when I lived in West Cork, I said “Mark me, THEY WILL BE HUGE”. They had like 200 listens. Next minute — signed to a big label, just released their debut album Reverie and are on a sold-out world tour for maybe ever. Come in from the rain and get immersed in Amble’s cozy Irish folk that sounds like candlelight in a stone cottage with a crackling fire and purring cat.

Gnoss — A Scottish band that is soundtracking my JOY. Music with such transportive qualities. The tunes (jigs really) sound like a road trip through the Highlands or what escaping from jail must feel like. Take me to the mountains; if not, I pop Gnoss on repeat.

WATCHING

Dying for Sex — This TV series starring Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate is one of the funniest, most poignant and achingly accurate depictions of the fierceness of female friendship that I have seen. It follows a woman who has a terminal diagnosis and is on a mission to have her first orgasm with another person. I howled with laughter throughout, and in the final episode (THAT LAST SCENE), I sobbed so much holding my heart, that I went to sleep with a headache. A must-watch for its brave explorations of pleasure and death.
The Snapper — This is the only movie I left off my Films that make you want to move to the Irish countryside list, and I have no idea why — it is brilliant! Supremely Irish, set in working-class Dublin with so much throw-your-head-back craic and cackles, it’s a delightful watch.
Downton Abbey — My absolute not-secret desire (despite my affinity for Ireland) is to live in an English manor, at least for a weekend. I want to have breakfast in the breakfast room, a gentle stroll on the grounds, followed by afternoon tea in the library room, and pre-dinner drinks in the sitting room. I will then change into an elaborate outfit for the evening meal in the dining room (dressed by my lady’s maid when the dinner gong goes off) and tactfully remark appropriate witticisms (“Lie is such an unmusical word”) as we are served by elegant footmen, then retreat to the drawing room to have a sherry by the fire. I have thought about this a lot. Perhaps a Downton Abbey-inspired gathering is on the cards? Please RSVP in the comments. I am watching Season 3 and while the Crawley family is dramatic, the Yorkshire countryside and turns of phrases calm my nervous system and give me sensory rest.
The Taste of Things — Set in 1889 in the most charming provincial French countryside kitchen (I still dream about the woodburning ovens and linen apron skirts) ~ it is pre-internet food porn. The story follows the love between a cook and a chef (Juliette Binoche as sensuous as ever) and I started making boiled potatoes with lashings of butter after this as I couldn’t get over how appealing it looked in the film.
Bob Trevino Likes It — If you have a father wound, you may find this healing. I went to an outdoor film screening with Monday Night Movie Club, and all five of us cried at different parts for the beauty of one character and the cruelty of another. It’s a tender and tactfully told true story about being abandoned by your real dad and found by a stranger.

EATING

Chicken, Mushroom, and Rice Soup — I was very bored with my soup repertoire, so I tried this recipe and was very pleased with the delicious results. I call it ‘risotto soup’ because that’s what it tastes like. YUM.
Boobie Bikkies — My beautiful sister-in-love and brother just birthed my baby niece Olivera into the world. These are GF and vegan lactation cookies I made for the nursing mama. I replaced yeast with 1 cup of shredded coconut and used GF flour instead of oat flour.
Drasko’s Chilli Oil — I’ve been waiting my whole life for a chilli oil this umami-balanced and flavour packed, and my brother made it. Punchy, salty and spicy (not painfully) — I drizzle it on literally all my meals. Thanks bro.

DRINKING

New section! For the tea lovers.

Ancient Highway — Shou pu’erh is perfect for a slow tea morning when I rug up in my tea cabin after first light. This tea is from the early 1990s, and for me, it’s a balance between the yin of older tea and the yang of younger, more vibrant tea. It tastes like earthy, woody autumn leaves.
Chaga Tea — My friend Jordie sent me wild Chaga mushroom chunks harvested from birch trees in Canada, and it tastes like a forest. It is rich in antioxidants, reduces inflammation, is anti-viral, and stimulates your immunity. Chaga’s potency benefits come from a slow extraction. I have a pot simmering on the stove for all the cold months. I first tried Chaga when I lived in Toronto, and no winter of mine is complete without it.

PONDERING

Um, everything.
Which parts of your life have been a waste of time? — This question continues to haunt my very existence.
The boundaries I need to set around my time and attention.
How to write this book while working a paying job.
Every woman, one day, will come to the realisation that maybe your biggest love story is your friends.
I overheard or someone told me that they approach dating like every man they meet is a different version of the divine masculine. Hugely helpful for re-framing time wasters (boys) and the quiet surprises (men).

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