Hi! I’m Natalie, a 47-year old second generation Lebanese-Canadian writer and filmmaker living in Turkey and Canada. I’m a Buddhist lay teacher in the lineage of Namgyal Rinpoche. And I’m in 12-step recovery.
Pretty typical, really.
Here you will find personal writing about creating connection and building community within our colonizing, capitalist, increasingly isolated, and incredibly f***ed up system. Themes include:
addiction and recovery
Buddhism and faith (from a feminist, activist, swear-word-heavy perspective)
travel (and food)
stories from those who were born here, and those who have no choice but to live here
life in a tiny Turkish mountain village and also a small Turkish seaside city
really old places
my neurotic but beloved dog, Django, who comes with me almost everywhere.
I practice the tradition of “dana” here, as I do in my teaching.
Dana means ‘generosity’ or ‘free will offering’.
Or, as Caitlin Johnstone puts it:
I [want] to write about the healthiest things I can possibly write about from the healthiest parts of myself, and if I'm going to get paid I want it to be by the healthiest impulses of the healthiest sort of people.
If you enjoy A Broad, want more of it, and are in a position to do so, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
The more people who pay to receive this newsletter, the more time I can devote to writing it.
Most importantly: I’m really glad you’re here.
