Have you made choices based on the toxic voice in your head that bombards you with all the reasons you can’t, couldn’t, or shouldn’t do something? I have — and they haven’t been my best decisions.

Something happened the other day. I’d just finished working on the first edit of Voices from the Mist when an agouti paca mother stood right outside my office. Of course, she scurried back to her den to protect her babies but I stayed behind in the garden and took a deep breath.

May is International Victorious Woman Month. Every woman who has molded her challenges into victories is worth celebrating. … I bet you've overcome some challenges that have taken your life to the next level. This month I want to share my experience dealing with a phobia.

As I continue my mission to retrace the last days of Dian Fossey in my upcoming book, Voices from the Mist, an underlying theme keeps surfacing. Dian experienced trauma during childhood, as many of us have. She felt betrayed by those who were supposed to love and protect her. Awareness of the source of our trauma gives us the opportunity to make more healthy choices. There is a process of recovery. I've learned how to become aware of trauma, choose my response to it, and manage it.

Today, I want to talk about the importance of dreams. Rather than encourage Dian to follow her dream of studying gorillas in Africa, her parents discouraged it.

One key to happiness is to always have something to look forward to. For me, it’s exotic travel and helping animals. Once I decide what I’m going to do, like the Nike slogan, I “Just Do It.”