Compañera

Tired from a late night, I eased into the ocean and stroked away from shore after dawn. Several meters out, my eyes snagged on a large fish, same length as me, swimming in the same direction, though below and to the right. Long body, long nose, silvery gray in the gloom.

My brain then registered reality—a dolphin!

The Bod turned around and swam quickly back to the bouldery beach. Whoa! Sat awhile, grinning and breathing, settling. Didn’t see a fin. Swam out again, a little farther, twice. Saw her not.

The very same day that Diary of a Reluctant Traveler was published, a dolphin swam with me for the very first time in my life. The memoir took courage and determination because of the emotional density of the trip (family drama and attempts to reconcile). For eight years, I could only manage a draft a year. But this year—buoyed by three successes—I stopped polishing and tweaking and rearranging and crying and sent it in.

It is not perfect. And it is good enough. That journey is over, hallelujah. I will not be silenced anymore.

Read ’em all:

—Diary of a Reluctant Traveler: 15 months on the road from coast to coast to coast—solo

—Sea Change: stories & splashes

—Shoulds are for Saints: the true life adventures of Suzy Le Speed

—Dance First …ask questions later: poems and paintings