About

Life is far bigger than what I know,
with complex connections in constant flow.
It’s like a great river going where it will go,
and the drop that is me can only follow.

— from my song “Droplet”

I love to write, and I love using writing to explore big thoughts about life.

I’m currently finishing my debut middle grade novel, which is about a group of kids that spark a revolution in an ancient totalitarian religious regime.

On this blog, I post essays, poems, and songs about whatever’s on my mind—which tends to hover on practical philosophy and psychology, especially mental health and healing from spiritual trauma.

Sections of this blog

I’ve set up four sections for this blog (all free):

1. 🌊 River Reflections (default section)

• Musings and updates from my journey of learning and writing

• Featured post: essay “Where Do We Look for Safety?”

2.🪷 Serenity Splashes

• poems from my reflections on coping with life

• Featured post: poem “So this is healing”

3. 🏝️ Learning Lagoon

• posts about things I'm learning or have previously enjoyed learning

• Featured post: essay “Freedom from Free Will”

4.🎵 Song Stream

• songs I write and record

• Featured post: Song “Quiet”

Nature photos

I feel lucky to live in these beautiful mountains of West Virginia, and I enjoy trying to capture its beauty with amateur photography. All photos here are my own. 📷

Some other things going on in my life:

• Healing and growing: I grew up fundamentalist Christian, and I’m on a journey of healing from that oppression and learning to think and live freely.

• Unmasking: similarly, I recently got diagnosed with autism and ADHD, so I’m in the process of unmasking and unlearning a lifetime of overcompensating for the ways my brain is different from the norm.

• Parenting: currently, being a mother is both the main channel of my time and energy and the main source of my learning and personal growth.

I also write anonymous Substacks about these topics (plus one about marriage), in order to have a freer space for writing on those more vulnerable-feeling themes. If you’re interested in reading them, message me the word “zinkerblop,” and I’ll send you back links to those blogs.

Mindfulness is my jam

The phrase “whatever the river brings” comes from one of my poems:

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

So be a watcher on the rock,      
   not flailing in the swash,      
      drowning when I try to swim.      
          Sit still, apart; just watch.

Even when the current’s rough      
   and splashes, slaps, and stings,      
      watch what happens, only watch,      
          whatever the river brings.

— from the “S” poem in my “Alphabet Meditation Verses” sequence

Whatever life’s river sends my way, I want to stay steady on my rock of mindfulness—observing and connecting with my experience, instead of being lost in it.

Come join me as I learn and grow. 🩷