The Interview
(Note: The top pictures in each section are ones I got from Google, but the second pictures--the one with people--are from Lisa and with Lisa.)
The Centrist cult in my debut novel Essence believes expressing emotions leads to Essence drain and early death. The cult’s mantra is “Neutrality is the key to longevity,” and its followers conserve their Essences by meditating and trying to remain as dispassionate and detached as possible.
The Centrist cult in my debut novel Essence believes expressing emotions leads to Essence drain and early death. The cult’s mantra is “Neutrality is the key to longevity,” and its followers conserve their Essences by meditating and trying to remain as dispassionate and detached as possible.
The Community in Yosemite, however, takes a completely
different stance on Essences. They believe you should amplify your Essence by
living passionately and surrounding yourself with things that inspire you. They
are particularly reverent about nature, and they believe its grandeur has the
power to nurture your soul.
I am a hippie girl at heart, so it was very easy for me to
translate my love of the environment into the Community’s love of the
environment. I have also found myself returning to the same natural places over
and over again whenever I need a little peace and stillness.
Here are five of my favorite havens. All of these places have
nurtured me during a critical time in my life, and I hope you enjoy them.
Cape Tribulation, Australia
I lived in Australia for six months during the fall of 2002,
and I view that trip as one of the first defining moments of my (nearly) adult
life. I was twenty years old at the time—and still kind of an idiot—but I saw and
experienced and grew so much that I knew my life would never, ever be the same.
This picture was taken along Four-Mile Beach on my way north
to Cape Tribulation. I remember being surrounded by kookaburras, pink
cockatoos, monitor lizards and blue Ulysses butterflies the size of my hand. I
think I am in the middle of a happy dance in this shot.
The Outback, Australia
I hesitated to include two photographs from the same trip,
but… oh my goodness. The rainforests of northern Australia are nothing like the parched wilderness of
the Outback, and this was a totally different leg of my journey—complete with
its own awed humbleness, shooting stars and life lessons.
Adventures are sometimes not complete without good friends
to share them, so I was especially happy to have met and buddied up with these
other backpackers during this part of my journey. I still keep in touch with
some of them today. (No, I’m not the gorgeous girl in the bikini. Thanks for
rubbing it in.)
Yosemite Valley, California
Yosemite was clearly an inspiring destination for me—so much
so that I wrote an entire book about it! I hope you can sense how much I love
the place when you pick up ESSENCE. It is, hands-down, the most amazing place I
have ever lived.
As for this photograph… Well, it was taken during the spring
of 2004 in a secret employee spot not many people know exists. I can’t disclose
the exact location for you, but let’s just say it makes a veiled appearance in
ESSENCE. This picture was taken the first day my roommate Mary Siner and I
discovered it, and… Yeah. I don’t think I stopped smiling like this for days.
Hatcher’s Pass, Alaska
I lived in Alaska for nearly three and a half years, and I
escaped into the wilderness every chance I could. I have never lived in a place
so ‘wild’ before, and the rugged isolation was both intimidating and inspiring.
Bear spray was a necessary component of my life, but I was also blessed with
gorgeous views like this one on a nearly daily basis.
This photograph was taken in 2009 in Hatcher’s Pass near
Palmer. These days, I find this shot incredibly bittersweet, because I shared
nearly eight years of my life with this man before we decided our paths were no
longer aligned. We have both gone on to chase our dreams elsewhere, but for
this brief moment, we were on top of the world.
Weedon Island, Florida
These days, I have returned to the solace of my home state
of Florida. The ocean has never stopped calling me, and I am particularly fond
of these mangrove trails in St. Petersburg’s Weedon Island Preserve. (This shot
was taken just a few weeks ago.)
The mangrove tunnels at Weedon are so dense that you
sometimes have to sit down on your paddleboard to squeeze through, and I often
put away my paddle and pull myself through the branches like Tarzan. Underneath
it all, I think I must be part-savage and part-mermaid, because nothing relaxes
me more than salt in my hair and sand between my toes.
Thanks so much for sharing my journey as I recount some of
my favorite, Essence-nourishing havens. I hope you enjoy the natural spaces in
my debut novel Essence as well. What are some of YOUR favorite spots??
The Book

Author: Lisa Ann O'Kane
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Publishing Date: June 3, 2014
Autumn escaped a cult, but now she realizes she's fallen into another.
Growing up in San Francisco’s Centrist Movement, sixteen year-old Autumn Grace has always believed emotions—adrenaline, endorphins, even happiness—drain your Essence and lead to an early death. But her younger brother’s passing and a run-in with a group of Outsiders casts her faith into question.
Ryder Stone, the sexy, rebellious leader of the Outsiders, claims Essence drain is nothing more than a Centrist scare tactic -- and he can prove it.
Autumn follows Ryder to his Community of adrenaline junkies and free spirits in Yosemite National Park, and they introduce her to a life of adventure, romance, sex, drugs and freedom. But as she discovers dark secrets beneath the Community’s perfect exterior, she realizes the more she risks in search of the perfect rush, the further she has to fall.
The Author

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