Michelle Dowd

A woman with long wavy hair sitting on a couch, smiling, wearing a black t-shirt with a guitar illustration, in a modern indoor space with large windows and a sign that reads 'Los Angeles' in the background.
A smiling woman and a smiling man standing together in a restaurant or bar with wooden wall decor and neon signs in the background. The woman has blonde hair and is wearing a black shirt with a circular design and a pink, multi-layered skirt. The man is bald, has a beard, tattoos on his right arm, and is wearing a yellow t-shirt with a mountain and bear graphic, along with blue jeans.

Michelle Dowd contributes to The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, TIME magazine, Alpinist, The LA Review of Books, LA Parent Mag, and other national publications. She was raised on a mountain in the Angeles National Forest where she learned to navigate by the stars and forage for edible plants. Her memoir, Forager: Field Notes on Surviving a Family Cult, showcases her life growing up on an isolated mountain in California as part of an apocalyptic cult, and how she found her way out of poverty and illness by drawing on the gifts of the wilderness.

The image shows the cover of the book titled 'Forager' by Michelle Dowd, with a subtitle 'Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult' written in red. The cover features the outline of a head made from torn paper with text, containing a small plant with a red berry inside.

Foraging for what you need Foraging is a skill for finding what you need, wherever you are. In this guided practice, we will focus on finding an authentic voice to tell our stories. Through guided meditation, journaling, and foraging from our surroundings, we will deepen our connection to the earth, so we can speak and write from a grounded place. We will use writing exercises and various elements of craft to immerse ourselves in the art of storytelling. Find out more @mdowd.substack.com