“Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that, but you are the only you.”
~ Neil Gaiman

At the root of true vodou is a belief in the power of individuals to call to them what they most desire. I believe it. As an advisor, writer and teacher, I have worked with design professionals to identify and articulate their values and aspirations, to embrace and strengthen their cultures, to name and own their territory. Along with the work I have done with and for my clients, I have developed my own narratives, claimed my own territory, created my own connections to people, places, and ideas—the things that I, like my clients, collaborators and friends, most desire.

I know that one of the most magical talents we have is our ability to tell stories. Myths, fables, parables, tales — whatever we call the stories we share, they are the keys to the common storehouse of human experience. We create these messages for a wealth of reasons — to entertain, to inform, to protect, and to teach.

As I transition away from my consulting practice, I am increasingly focused on telling stories. Personal stories about identity and family, about places and artifacts that have special meaning to me, about culture as I understand it. Stories that I hope will help me and my readers understand the past, shape the future and live fully in the present.

As a graduate student in French literature, I have done my fair share of translation and understand that word for word translations often miss the intended meaning and there isn't always an exact equivalent word in the other language. More often there's a cultural or emotional shading that asks for thoughtful interpretation of meaning rather than a simple translation.

Identity

Place