my gift to you

This weekend, I sat and read my own book on a cafe patio. I sat at a table in the sun and ordered a coffee. I usually drink my coffee Black. This weekend, I added a little cream and sugar. 

I had a renewed sense of gratitude in this moment– 

for the gift of the sun’s radiance, 

for my breath, 

for these lungs that just know what to do, 

for the strangers whose eyes smile above masks, 

for the server Francisco who calls me “my dear”, 

for the florist who teaches me to smell the leaves of a wax flower because they produce a scent of lemongrass, 

for the sweet tenderness during a week that was so charged with hate.

I will remember this moment as the first time I read my own book– this book that I wrote, this book that found me, these words that called me, these words that asked me to give them a home. This book is that home. This book, in many ways, is my home. 

It was my own words that gave me the solace I needed this weekend. It was this book that reminded me of who I am. It was this book that reminded me of what I have been through and how I have grown. It was this book that reminded me that I am protected. It was this book that reminded me of my own strength, my own love, my own divinity. 

It’s time now. 

It’s time to share my home with you, to finally share my book with you. I share these words with you humbly + lovingly.

These words are the most intimate parts of me.  I offer them to you now, in service of what I felt called to do.

Copies of my first book “i wrote this to heal” are available purchase through Vroman’s Bookstore.

Thank you for supporting me. Thank you for your patience as I found the courage to finally press “SEND” on this message. Thank you for being a part of my journey. 

With gratitude + butterflies,

Alysha