Meet the Author

Hayli is a freelance writer and photographer with a specialization in long term travel and personal narrative.

As a child, writing came as easy to me as breathing, but it was due to my incessant curiousity. I was always lost in a whirl of imagination, creating stories and dialogues for the physical world around me. I wanted to write children’s books initially, but as I transitioned into adulthood, I was determined to see my name in the stacks of books I carried of my favorite authors. Unfortunately, not every dream can survive when the foundations beneath us crumble. Through a devastating first year of college, having to move home and tend to a family falling apart from an ugly divorce, developing unhealthy codependent relationships, and having a pulmonary embolism at the young age of 23, I lost my way. Not only my way, but I lost my voice entirely.

I restarted my writing journey in 2013 during my first international travels through Germany, Paris, Amsterdam, and ending in Dublin. I had a journal permanently in tow, but it was the sending of postcards that really ignited the connection within myself and my surroundings. I set the goal to send fifty postcards during my month of being gone. Not only did it revive my love for snail mail, but it taught me the power of intention in what we share and why. It also taught me what happens when we open your heart and share a piece of our experience with others. I maintain this practice to this day and have sent over 400 postcards to friends, family, and even a few strangers around the world. You can read more about using Postcards as a Writing Process on Medium.

My writing portfolio has unfurled in a multitude of directions, but as a writer, every tangent is a meaningful one. I personally revived my love for poetry with my first book being published in November 2019. I used my 5+ years of knowledge and expertise working with Babies R Us to become the content manager for several affiliate websites including Nursery Hero and The Nightlight. I even transcribed the videos for a travel influencer’s eCourse. My greatest achievement, though, has been working for the last year as Pilgrim Magazine’s Editor and Co-Curator of stories. Not only have I worked with writers around the world, but I’ve helped non-native English speakers polish their already beautiful stories in order to reach a broader, more global audience. While I still write for multiple facets, my greatest hope is to use my place of privilege to elevate the voices and stories of others doing exceptional things with their lives. I can only hope to reveal (and encourage) our interconnectedness on this earth.