You Do Not Have To Be Good
"You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves."
--Mary Oliver, "Wild Geese"
You Do Not Have To Be Good is the story of my own somatic journey across five countries, as I learned how to heal from debilitating autoimmune disease and early childhood trauma. It is a story about emancipation and discovery of what truly matters: body, love, earth, home.
"This book is one of the most incredible books I have ever read. The writing is so beautiful. Exquisite." -- C.C.
"Thank you for writing this book. It's a powerful, beautiful thing. It is both a great read and also a deep look at what it is to live in this world, especially as a woman. So many passages resonated." --U.M.
"I devoured this book in 2 days and it ripped me open for a week in the best and most heartbreaking way...I felt so inspired, validated and connected." R.J.
"This book helped me to see and understand aspects of myself that I've never been able to reach, even after years of therapy. Reading this was deeply healing for me." --BK
"This is one of the most engrossing, beautiful memoirs I have ever read. A search for meaning in the face of extraordinary trauma, a journey of physical pain, love, freedom, and ultimately the deepest wisdom: wisdom of the body and soul. It's also about what it means - or does not mean - to be a woman, and all the constrictions and beliefs still governing many women's lives and bodies and the consequences of flying in the face of these." -SJ