Hi! I’m Maggie.
Photo: Lance Gerber
I’m a writer. World traveler. Coffee guzzler. Adventure collector. Mediocre photographer.
My first book, Braver Than You Think: Around the World on the Trip of My (Mother’s) Lifetime, was published May 2020 by Counterpoint Press and became an instant Amazon bestseller. You can order it now. Go on. I’ll wait. I recommend buying 27 copies.
The book is all about how I quit my job and spent one year backpacking solo around the world to complete my mom’s bucket list while she was in the final stage of Alzheimer’s disease. Along the way I hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, I went on safari, I volunteered at a monkey sanctuary in the Bolivian jungle and worked with elephants in northern Thailand. I also rafted down the Nile, attended a football game in Buenos Aires, visited temples in Cambodia, and so much more.
Photo: Jeff Bordey
After making it all the way around the world I’m still awful at hailing cabs, but I can order noodles in every country.
Mmmm. Noodles.
Now I’m back in Palm Springs, where I am a freelance writer and the marketing director for a small university campus. I hold a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative nonfiction from the University of California, Riverside-Palm Desert. I attended journalism school at Ohio University and still consider myself a Bobcat.
To read my clips, check out my Contently profile. My essays have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Roads & Kingdoms, Racked, The Rumpus, and Eating Well, among others, while my journalism has been published by the BBC, Afar, Atlas Obscura, Al Jazeera, Smithsonian, Outside.com, Palm Springs Life, the Cincinnati Enquirer, The (Palm Springs) Desert Sun, USA Today, and more. I’ve also written about children’s books for Barnes & Noble Kids, and I am a contributing writer for BabyCenter.
Thank you for visiting! If you want to see more, like my author page over on Facebook, subscribe to my newsletter, or email me at myname@gmail.com
Photo: Erin Davies
6 Comments
Hey Maggie! Just finished reading your great article in the LA Times 11 May 2013. I am so happy for your marriage AND all your wonderful travel experiences you have been able to do. Really REALLY miss your articles here in the Palm Springs area, The Desert Sun!
Stay healthy and happy!!
The monkey story was the best story in the book. Some crazy things happened there. Overall, this was a great book. Thank you!
Hi Maggie! I loved Braver Than You Think — a perfect and poignant book for any time, but especially during the pandemic. It was amazing to travel along with you on your adventures, so vividly described, and to hear your perspective on life and loss and resilience. Thank you!
Maggie – heard your interview on NPR today. You gave voice to what so many have been experiencing, along with the inspiration to get liberated from whatever holds us back. Congrats and thanks. Time to order your book.
That was about the bravest thing a lone woman can do, kudos for the journey and the book. I bought it, read it and passed it on to a friend to read.
Instinct brought me to your book… and I’m profoundly grateful it did. I just finished it. And that reunion with Jokia – ugh, let’s just say there was a lot of emoting 😭.
I’m so glad you added the epilogue, it felt perfect. And as a mom of two young kiddos, I’m completely in awe and inspired by the traveling you do with your son. I’ve wanted to take them to so many places, but have been held back by fear from myself and others. This past summer I took a great leap and brought the family west, to California, where part of my soul lives. And it felt scary, unnerving, unknowing, but bright, rejuvenating, adventurous and exactly where we needed to be. I got reacquainted with myself and realized she’s still worth fighting for and there are far too many people and places my soul needs to find. Thank you for reminding me of these things and sharing your life, experiences and incredible writing. Such a gift!
Blessings to you and your lovely family 💛.