Hey there!

I'm Esther and I love all things related to travel, cultures, the outdoors, art, and language. Some fun facts about me are that:

I've been to 49 of the 50 States
I've been to over 35 countries (& counting!)
I speak (and write poetry in) English, Spanish, Italian, & Portuguese

I invite you to take a moment to read on and discover what inspired many of my writings and how I was drawn to poetry in the first place.

My Story

It happened on a cold winter evening in early 2011 while skiing in upstate PA. While trying to round a curve, my skis hit a patch of ice that sent me flying over the edge to an estimated 200’ fall, my body hitting rocks and trees on the way down.

There I lay, unconscious - in a brief coma - before being found and rushed to the ICU at Lehigh Valley Hospital. Scans revealed that I had broken my skull in seven places and had suffered bleeding on the brain.

But my life was spared.

Doctors checked and rechecked my body for other breaks because they reasoned that if my head had taken the full impact of that fall, surely I wouldn’t have come out alive.

To their amazement, though, no other part of my body was broken, fractured, or even sprained. My head absorbed the full impact of the fall causing a very serious traumatic brain injury.

It's a miracle to be alive.

Yes, that Sunday so many years ago marked a life-altering moment in my life and has since been the cause of great pain and discomfort.

Nonetheless, it has also been a doorway to some of the sweetest unexpected gifts, the most humbling gestures of friendship, and the real-est encounters with love I’ve ever experienced in my life.

Ongoing Implications For Life

Due to the severity of the first traumatic brain injury, I’ve been at greater risk for future brain injuries. To date, I have sustained six concussions. My book, Sweeter was birthed during prolonged seasons of chronic pain as I longed to be well again.

See, a large part of my health journey has required sitting - and waiting - in literal darkness. My body struggles to tolerate light, sound, and stimuli like before and this means I will often have to leave environments that my brain tells me are overstimulating.

Some long-term effects of my brain injuries include no longer being able to engage in activities I once enjoyed like biking, boating, playing pick-up games with friends, jumping, cartwheels, etc. My brain cannot tolerate much movement or impact so I've taken up calmer hobbies like hiking and have come to find beauty in how my injury pushes me outdoors at a slower pace.

There are plenty of days where I think I have a handle on the extent of my physical limitations only to be rudely met by yet another type of stimuli that causes intense pain & discomfort. It re-opens those scars and reminds me of what I lost all over again.

However, through poetry, prayer, and processing with some pretty amazing people (you know who you are!), I am reminded this is all just temporary and that, someday soon, I'll be walking - well, maybe more like running, dancing, jumping, and cartwheeling - once again in a perfected body for all of eternity!

My Poetry

For years now, I’ve written poetry but have primarily kept it to close friends. However, after hearing so many of you urge me to share my writings more publicly, I’ve decided to dive in!

I’ll be honest, it feels wildly vulnerable as I write from places of such rawness in my own heart and life. Much of my poetry springs out of seasons of deep pain as I wrestle with life’s harder questions like asking God where He is or what He's doing while I weep.

Nonetheless, I've started this page for those who love beauty, poetry, art, transparency, and - most of all - desire to go deeper.

This site is my testimony and showcases where pain meets beauty.

Where suffering meets joy.

Where desperation results in peace.

Where loss meets hope.

My Writing Style

Poetry is an expression I stumbled upon due largely in part to my injury.

You see, amidst the most excruciating pain I’d ever experienced in my body - specifically in my brain - I struggled to process complex thoughts, to read, and - yes - even to write. And so poetry - with its short, raw lines of text straight from my heart to the page - became the way I processed, prayed, and grieved.

Poetry is among my favorite ways to process what I'm experiencing inside. When I don't know what I'm feeling or find myself lacking words, I simply start writing poetry and - before too long - I arrive at conclusions that often surprise me.

More often than not, my poetry ends very differently than I expected it to when I started writing. This writing style is evidenced all throughout my book, Sweeter.

Rather than publishing fully-formed ideas, I wanted to publish a more authentic representation of my internal experience and allow readers the opportunity to trace precisely how and when my perspective changed.

Come join the discovery with me! You may discover things about yourself or those you love.

Get in Touch!

Use my contact submission to book me to speak, discuss artistic collaboration, place bulk orders, or share how "Sweeter" has impacted you!

I look forward to connecting with you!

📍 Philadelphia, PA