Sometimes, you can go home again. ❤️ Buffalo is home because family and friends who know my story, share my memories, and welcome me with love. They are my belonging place. bit.ly/465ahCs

When Friends and Family Are Your Belonging Place

Reflecting on my recent visit to Buffalo

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What helps us remain grounded when the world feels uncertain? I reflect on spirituality, compassionate boundaries, prayer, and the communities that connect us to something greater than ourselves. Spirituality and Belonging: https://bit.ly/4q2KIv9

What if belonging doesn't begin when someone welcomes us? What if it begins when we welcome ourselves? My latest essay explores how attachment, self-concept, and the stories we tell ourselves shape every relationship we have—from childhood through adulthood. Read it here: https://bit.ly/4vZyWD4

In my latest essay, I reflect on what "It takes a village to raise a child" really means, why many families feel its absence, and how each of us can become part of someone else's village. 📖 Read: https://bit.ly/4wielL4

How do we care deeply without carrying the weight of the world? My latest Substack explores empathy, compassion fatigue, boundaries, and self-belonging—and what being a witness has taught me. Perhaps witnessing is about walking beside others without losing ourselves. https://bit.ly/44xgyWR

Can belonging be revoked? When I lost my Kuwaiti citizenship, I found myself asking a deeper question: Who am I when the place I call home no longer recognizes me? This is about identity, home, and discovering what cannot be taken away. Read it here: https://bit.ly/4w5F5yn

Legacy isn't only what we leave behind. It's the stories we preserve, the compassion we model, and the sense of belonging we help create for future generations. In this week's Journey to Belonging, I explore why I now see legacy as a quilt stitched across generations. 🧵 https://bit.ly/4wrKPSY

Why do we write? My latest post explores writing, storytelling, memory, student agency, and belonging through the lens of Angela Stockman's work and my own journey as a learner, teacher, and author. Read it here: https://bit.ly/4eG24st

Do we have to be older and wiser to know ourselves? My latest post explores the lifelong journey of becoming ourselves. Read here: https://bit.ly/43LAIvU

For years, I answered the question “How are you?” with two simple words: “I’m fine.” As I write my memoir, I’m discovering the hidden cost of that response—and how the stories we tell ourselves shape our sense of belonging. My latest post explores that journey. https://bit.ly/4en1VtU

What if peace doesn't begin in governments or treaties—but within us? In my latest Journey to Belonging post, I explore how self-belonging, attachment, and emotional regulation shape the way we relate to others and respond to conflict. Belonging as a Pathway to Peace https://bit.ly/3RMUSDa

I had planned to continue my series on belonging, but today's news from Kuwait changed that. This is a personal reflection on distance, uncertainty, and the ache of loving a place from afar. Between Safety and Home https://bit.ly/43xCyAB #Belonging #Kuwait #Peace

What helps older adults feel they still belong? My latest Substack post, Belonging Across the Lifespan: Aging and Connection, explores loneliness, aging, intergenerational belonging, and the importance of human connection throughout our lives. Read here: https://bit.ly/3RpLm8P

In my newest Substack, I reflect on experiences from banking, schools, and university leadership to explore why belonging matters in the workplace. Belonging isn’t about fitting in. It’s about feeling seen, heard, respected, and safe enough to contribute fully. Read here: https://bit.ly/4dWzvHS

SIGNED BOOKS ALERT 📚💙 I went to Harvard Books and signed all their copies of The Edge of Space-Time and The Disordered Cosmos, meaning they are the only store in the country with signed copies of my first book! Get them while you can! www.harvard.com/book/9780593... www.harvard.com/book/9781541...

My recent Substack focuses on belonging in education throughout our lives. My books, Journey to Belonging and Finding Your Pathway to Belonging, focus on the same but in more detail, including personal stories, research, and practical suggestions for activities and lessons. journeys2belonging.c...

Belonging is not just for early childhood. We need it throughout our lives as learners and educators. New post: belonging in K–12, higher education, and lifelong learning. https://bit.ly/3Ra1hrB #Belonging #Education

Belonging begins in childhood. In small moments. In how we respond to big feelings. And how a bagel with cream cheese for dinner can bring on big feelings. New post: Why Belonging Matters: Childhood https://bit.ly/4whOX8W

NEW PODCAST ALERT! Newbery Award-Winning Rajani LaRocca shares personal insights into her writing, including how joy fuels her creative endeavors—from picture books to middle grade to her upcoming YA novel! 12x12challenge.com/p... #writersofinstagram #podcast #author #kidlit #picturebook

A single taste took me back 60 years. Back to my childhood kitchen. Back to belonging. This week, I reflect on how our senses carry memory—and how food connects generations. What food brings you home? 👉 Read more: https://bit.ly/4de30Vh #Belonging #Memory #FoodStories

What if self-belonging is the key to every other kind of belonging? A reflection on identity, relationships, and growth. 🔗 https://bit.ly/3QpjLUC

What if bridging the divide starts with listening—not reacting? In my latest piece, Bridging the Divide, I reflect on belonging in education and the workplace. What it means to truly “witness” others. Read here: https://bit.ly/421sxdX #Belonging #Witness #ListenToUnderstand

Today’s reflection: leaving Kuwait, crossing borders, and arriving in Copenhagen—exhausted, uncertain, and somehow exactly where I was meant to be. This is also what it means for me to witness. Read it here: https://bit.ly/4sm23if #JourneyToBelonging #Witness #Belonging

I turned 70 this week. In the middle of uncertainty and a difficult decision to leave Kuwait, I realized something unexpected: I’ve learned how to stay calm…even when everything around me isn’t. A reflection on life, love, and what 70 is teaching me. https://bit.ly/3NWugha

During Ramadan, I joined a creative challenge. Then the sirens began. What began as a space for creative expression became something more. A reflection on how community helps us find our way back, even in uncertainty. 🔗 https://bit.ly/4t16oI3 #JourneyToBelonging #Creativity #Community #Belonging

In moments of crisis, the question often feels simple: Stay or leave? Over the past 40 years living in Kuwait, I’ve faced that decision many times—during war, pandemic, and uncertainty. Looking back, I realized my choices were guided by something deeper: belonging. New post: https://bit.ly/3PpPkgt

The siren blares. Beep. Beep. Beep. My body freezes. Living through uncertainty reminds me how powerful community is. In my new Substack post, I reflect on: • fear • co-regulation • WhatsApp communities • the lifeline of belonging Read it here: 🔗 https://bit.ly/40mtcG9

The siren blares. Beep. Beep. Beep. My body freezes. Living through uncertainty reminds me how powerful community is. In my new Substack post, I reflect on: • fear • co-regulation • WhatsApp communities • the lifeline of belonging Read it here: 🔗 https://bit.ly/40mtcG9

Witnessing isn’t passive. It’s refusing to let fear erase our humanity. New Substack post on mattering and belonging in times of conflict. 🔗 https://bit.ly/4cjbgDu

#MSWL Day is here! I'm seeking more narrative nonfiction for children and adults. Think THE MONA LISA VANISHES (Day) or Candace Fleming's books for kids. More like THE ART THIEF (Finkel) or NO HUMAN INVOLVED (Neely) for adults. Also seeking nonfiction that really brings setting to life!