As We Bloom

As We Bloom: Wisdom from Extraordinary Everyday Women and Gender Nonconforming People is the story of the author's solo, cross-country road trip in search of people living in inspirational and courageous ways in a time when her own life had fallen out from under her.

In her minivan (not the cool Sprinter kind, the family minivan kind), Mia drove from the beaches of Southern California and the icy ocean waters of the Pacific Northwest to the magnificent mountains of Colorado and the blustery, bustling streets of New York City. Along the way, she spoke with people of all walks of life: a car mechanic running an LGBTQIA+ auto repair shop in Seattle, a smokejumper in Missoula, a craft beer brewer in Denver, and a group of women who ride motorbikes and leave a trail of pink smoke throughout New Orleans. She said goodbye to an old life and hello to newness, moved tenderly through a broken heart, fell in love, and rediscovered her own power.

After nearly ten thousand miles, twenty interviews, and four months, Mia chronicled some of the women and gender nonconforming folks living out magnificent stories and charting brave paths we won't see on billboards, in movies, or in magazines-existing instead in our own communities and backyards.

As We Bloom is a journey of learning to trust ourselves when we don't have any answers and prioritize living in a way that brings us joy-without a trendy shortcut, pro tip, or life hack. It's a rich collection of diverse lived experiences and raw vulnerability against a backdrop of social justice that urges us to indulge in possibility and reconnect with ourselves.