writer. traveller. life unraveller.
I spotted this epigram of sorts, “Open to More”, printed on a shop sign when walking from the bus station upon arriving in Pokhara, Nepal back in March. I’d just finished a harrowing nine-hour bus journey from Kathmandu, and was making my way on foot to my guesthouse. Taxis were available, but my legs needed... Continue Reading →
Not all risks involve bungee cords, LSD, Bitcoin—or even poles. Many risks are quiet and internal acts of courage that challenge who we think we are. Like ingrown hairs, they’re intimate—and invisible to (almost) everyone but ourselves. Small psychic risks are the little acts of courage we take to confront our own status quo. From... Continue Reading →
Listen here and please forgive my attempt at basic Thai!! There’s this lovely woman in Chiang Mai who reminds me of a tea cozy. She wears slacks like my grandma did and starched floral blouses, and she has baby-fine salt and pepper hair and friendly eyes looking out of a soft round face. She... Continue Reading →
It’s easy to get lost in a word forest. It’s the consequence of total overwhelm combined with the sheer number of words in the English vocabulary and my complete, unlimited access to all of them. If only I could remember them all. You know that saying, you can’t see the forest for the trees? Sometimes,... Continue Reading →
I used to think life was a chaotic and complicated mess of events and emotions that both fascinated and bewildered me. It’s kind of like being on a roller coaster ride and having no idea when that next loop or fall is coming and feeling somewhat out of control. Or like a beautiful piece of... Continue Reading →
After being alive four decades we expect to know something. We expect ourselves to be something definitive, easily identified by the world we live in and something that perhaps, has a nice label attached to it. I strived for this for a long time. Even when I thought I wasn't. Even when I renounced my... Continue Reading →
If you'd rather listen, click play below 🙂 Every once in a while I have a day where I feel more connected to the stars, the moon, the cosmos, the things hidden from the plain light of the material world–the "real" one, as most of us call it. I crave going further into the abyss... Continue Reading →
It’s been five years since I experienced a Canadian fall. If not for a certain special somebody I would have been long gone, back to Asia, before autumn equinox. Before the temperature dropped, the leaves started to change, and proper close-toed shoes and jackets became necessary. I usually dread the idea of staying past August... Continue Reading →
Sixteen years ago I walked into this little house in Toronto's Beaches neighbourhood after meeting my mother-in-law to-be for the first time. She frightened me to be completely honest, because she was confident, outspoken, and the mother of the man I loved. I was quiet, shy, and had an ego about as squash-able as a... Continue Reading →
So, I wrote I book, which is actually a collection of blogs–my musings and stories of a two-year-long life now passed. If you're interested in reading some amusing, crass, heartfelt stories, check it out on Amazon.com, and please leave a review! Here I share the preface/introduction to my book, A Single White Female in a Foreign... Continue Reading →
colleen thornton 