A growing library of essays on what your body is trying to tell you — through your skin, your gut, and your nervous system.

The Reading Room

Plantain: Supporting Boundaries
Plantain: Supporting Boundaries
Meet the Plant Plantain (Plantago major and Plantago lanceolata) has always struck me as a particularly generous plant. She isn’t precious about where she grows. Her green leaves appear in... Read more...
Formulation: For Skin That's Been Trying to Tell You Something
Formulation: For Skin That's Been Trying to Tell You Something
Our skin is doing three things every single day, with it rarely ever needing us to pay attention to it.  It's maintaining, mending, and generating new cells for our barrier,... Read more...
Calendula: The Skin Herb That Does More Than You Might Think
Calendula: The Skin Herb That Does More Than You Might Think
Meet the Plant Calendula (Calendula officinalis) has become a constant companion in my garden. She lives in one of the many pots lining my patio, quietly blooming throughout the season.... Read more...
Devotion to Ritual
Devotion to Ritual
Rarely, if ever, does the thing that changes our lives happen all at once. I find myself hoping for transformation to arrive as a single moment: a diagnosis that finally... Read more...
The Path of Plants
The Path of Plants
Cut to two years ago. I was working as a nurse advocate for women with chronic UTIs and vaginal infections. I was having the same conversation over and over about... Read more...
Chamomile: Calming Reactivity
Chamomile: Calming Reactivity
How chamomile supports the nervous system to calm reactive skin and digestive upset — a somatic look at the skin-gut connection. Read more...
Skin Signals
Skin Signals
Our Skin Doesn’t React Randomly Skin can be so mysterious. A pimple appears out of nowhere, dryness persists no matter how much moisturizer you use, or eczema flares even when... Read more...