Mother/PEDIATRICIAN/WRITER
Author of Memoir: FOund in Transition: A Mother’s Evolution During Her Child’s Gender Change
Harvesting Rosewater:
Debut Fiction
Releasing on
August 15, 2025
Available On:
Sweat trickled down my neck as I stood in the heat alongside my daughter and husband, waiting for our turn to march in the Los Angeles Pride Parade in 2018. While I had been a spectator at Pride before, I never guessed that one day I would be marching beside my teenager, dark maroon lipstick painting her lips, a barrette pinning back her now almost shoulder-length hair, a “she” pin fastened to her “love wins” shirt.
Virtual Book Release Event
Due to the pandemic, instead of an in-store book-signing, I had a virtual book release event hosted by my local independent bookstore, Book Soup. I was in conversation with the New York Times best-selling author of From Scratch, Tembi Locke. The event can still be viewed by those who missed it through crowdcast.
I stand in the dressing room, turning to the side, running my hand over the bulge of my tummy, dipping it in over the line caused by my underwear. I notice the way the dress clings just a little too much over my hips. At 45, there is no denying that I have my mom’s body, but on this particular day, it is OK. Over the last few months, I have finally realized just how lucky I am to have her body — a body that matches my gender identity…
Our bungalow was still dark when my cellphone rang at 5 a.m. My husband and I had escaped for a much needed yoga retreat on the remote island of Koh Phangan, Thailand, when I got the phone call no parent ever expects to get—a call that four years of medical school, three years of pediatric residency training, and 15 years of practicing pediatrics hadn’t prepared me for…
“Allergic To Hugs” is a piece I wrote and presented in front of an audience in Los Angeles as part of a show called Expressing Motherhood. My piece tells the story of my middle child’s presentation as transgender. You can listen to the presentation through a recorded podcast from one of the shows.
What I worry about the most is knowing that once we start, the way she smells will change. Every time I drop her off at school, I bury my face in her neck and inhale, aware that the days of her smelling like the child I know are numbered…. I’ve always had this thing for people’s natural scent.