My fiancé is a very interesting person. One of the things about him that really amazes me is his aspiration to everything simple. He doesn’t like when things are overcomplicated. He likes when the actual meaning can be easily found and understood. Maybe that is why he likes simple food, simple books, and simple movies. Even when…
Take My Hand, We'll Walk Together
Adler Utley (Addy) is a 7-year-old boy who loves all things striped – especially striped socks. When Addy was diagnosed with Stage 3 Wilms Tumor (a rare kidney cancer) in March, his entire first grade class at Alpine Elementary wore striped socks to school. Sara Utley (Addy’s mom) wrote, “What a thing of beauty to…
Leaving a Trace
“It is paradoxical, but profoundly true that the most certain way for people to bring hope, help, meaning, and joy to their own lives is by reaching out and bringing hope, help, meaning and joy to the lives of others.” – Dan Zadra At ANASAZI, we strive to walking gently upon Mother Earth. This means…
Addicted to Running Away | Letters From the Trail
Dear Mom, It’s only been a week since I have been here at ANASAZI. I have chosen to do this not for myself, but to help others. Through this process of learning how to guide the YoungWalkers, I myself, have learned. Never have I really let myself process my childhood, and would rather cope…
The Heart of You
There has been a theme running around my life of late – doubt. It is not only present with me, but has been a topic of conversation with many close to me. It has shackled me, and with such exaction, making any efforts to move forward in my life painstakingly difficult. To varying degrees, we…
Dear Readers
Dear Readers- Sometimes the road of life can be a bit bumpy and unexpected. At times it seems that you know the answers are out there, but they are hard to find or they are confusing. Other times you struggle watching someone you love suffer—whether through their own actions or as consequence of someone else’s…
Smooth Sailing
Two of my favorite students and their five siblings were raised on a small sailboat, the Liahona, somewhere between Florida, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. They didn’t have a house, just a spot at the dock now and again. Admittedly, I loved their essays about the colors of a childhood at sea. Who doesn’t want to…
Defeating PTSD: Forgiveness
When I first began going to therapy for PTSD, I had a really hard time with the concept of forgiveness. It was this big important landmark of a thing that I could never actually learn to do right–or even at all. I harbored a lot of anger and resentment deep inside my damaged soul. How…
Good Old Friends
The other night, as my husband and I were out to dinner, I was reminded of one of the most precious commodities we have for helping us walk forward in life—friends. This revelation came not only because my husband is my best friend and I love being with him, but because of where we were…