Introducing Moon Garden: Poetry for Manifestion
+ Reflections on the fires, community and a Self Love Pinky Ring announcement
My family of five, plus our dog Hank, in the hotel room we called home for a week during the Palisades fire.
January was supposed to be many things, including the month I announced that my new book was available for preorder. But when the fires came, I was reminded of this eternal truth: absolutely nothing is promised. So, I’ll be candid and say that this joyful announcement, about a book I love and have been quietly writing for nearly two years, is offered alongside deep sadness. Two communities near mine are gone, my friends are displaced, and once again, after many years of unparalleled resilience, we are being asked to be resilient, yet again.
Throughout my life, and especially in my adulthood, I have had a recurring nightmare. It’s the end of the world, and I’m watching, paralyzed, as it unfolds. How it ends is always different: once, the end came as a world war, bombs falling all around me, another time, it was aliens, and still another time I was driving on an overpass with my family, unaware of the gaping hole in the highly that eventually swallowed us whole and plunged us into the ocean. In my nightmares, the end always arrives in different ways, but how I feel, what I think, and what I say is always the same: “It finally happened.”
Given the beginning of my life, an escapee from Iran at three months old, you could say that fight or flight was coded into me as my primary operating system. Despite the many years of therapy and the books I’ve written about self-healing, fight or flight remains tethered to my very essence. I think that’s what the dreams represent: the fact that whether I am awake or asleep, there’s a part of me that is always waiting (and ready) for the other shoe to drop. When the fires came too close for comfort and we had to evacuate, I was ready. I’d been waiting my whole life for this.
In an Instagram post after the election, Margaret Atwood (author of The Handmaid’s Tale) wrote at the end of her caption, “The End of Days is not yet.” The phrase really resonated with me so I made it into a sweatshirt for myself. Little did I know what January would bring.
What I wasn’t ready for, and what my most recent end of days nightmare foreshadowed, is how community would step in and save me. I can’t count the number of concerned phone calls, text messages, emails and DMs I received from close and long-lost friends and even strangers. A dormmate from my freshman year of college reached out offering his home. So did a classmate from law school. A fan of one of my books whom I corresponded with only once a year ago reached out to see how I was doing. Throughout the city, people donated their time, money, clothes, and more. In WhatsApp groups people banded together for once not to argue, but to come up with strategies for making sure everyone in the community was safe.
When I say I had a premonition about this surge in community care being the antidote for tragedy, this is what happened: my last dream was of my car plunging off an unfinished highway into the ocean below. As we fell, I was convinced life was over for me and my family. But then, my six-year-old son swam over and saved me. The end of days dream didn’t end with my demise; it ended with me being saved, and by the most unexpected person.
We are all capable of being saved. Saving ourselves, and saving each other. If you need support today, please reply to this email and let me know how I can help you.
I’m so proud to announce that my upcoming book and third poetry collection, Moon Garden: Poetry for Manifestation, is now available for preorder.
In Moon Garden, I invite you to cultivate your intentions, bloom through the seasons, and manifest your dreams with the magic of the moon.
In Moon Garden, nature becomes your manifestation guide, as illuminated by the twelve moons of The Old Farmer’s Almanac and Native American tradition. Rooted in the symbolism of a moon garden—an enchanted haven of shimmering, night-blooming flowers—this soulful book offers poetic reflections on nature’s wisdom, with guidance from dandelions, moonflowers, the stars, and more.
Blending poetry and meditative prose, each chapter explores the monthly moon’s unique energy, from January’s wolf moon through December’s cold moon. With mystical illustrations, thoughtful prompts, and powerful affirmations, Moon Garden serves as a sanctuary of self love where you can release perfection, reclaim presence, and nurture your soul, moon by moon and page by page.
Perfect for those eager to deepen their self love journey or set intentions in sync with the lunar cycle, Moon Garden: Poetry for Manifestation is more than a poetry book; it’s a year-long manifestation guide for healing and dream fulfillment, inspired by the quiet beauty of the night and the light that resides within you.
Why preorder you may ask, instead of just waiting to order the book when it becomes available? Booksellers — both online and physical stores — use preorders to judge how well a book will do, which in turn informs how they will display it, promote it, and how many copies of it they will order in advance of and throughout the books release. By preordering, you’re ensuring not only a successful launch for Moon Garden, but you’re also elevating all my books and ensuring the longevity and success of my overall career as an author. In short, my future is in your hands. Please consider preordering one copy for you, and one for someone you love, and when possible, spread your orders between different platforms.
Thank you for helping me bring this book to life. It means more to me than I can ever express.
The Self Love Pinky Ring is back again. I’ve opened up orders now through Monday, February 10th. If you place an order, your ring will be custom made just for you and delivered by the first week of March. Click on the link below for all the details by way of a google form.