Empathy is a great skill for building friendships; it's also a powerful tool for deescalating aggression and exiting dicey situations.

In 2018 I pedaled 3700 miles around eastern Canada and the US, in search of the wild reindeer. “When hope is lost, you can create it. Life is too short to let anyone else own your truth. And you can break and still be unbreakable.”

I boxed up my things. I gave away my mattress and got rid of my car. I said goodbye to my boyfriend and to Basil. Then I gathered up my bike and my camping gear and bought a one-way ticket to Alaska.

Home is a film about Sarah Outen’s four-and-a-half human-powered circumnavigation of the world. But it’s not the story you think it will be.

I always have to ask myself — is he handing me cookies because he wants to give me some sugar? Or is he handing me cookies because he wants to get some sugar?

Heather Russell is the founder of Sacred Cycle, a Colorado-based nonprofit that provides affordable therapy to survivors of sexual assault.

Everything was covered in ice, and there was no sign of life in any direction. I felt like I’d been set loose alone on another planet. This kind of solitude scared me but also made me feel more whole.

For many people on solitary journeys, dealing with ourselves is one of the biggest parts of the adventure. But for many women, this is compounded by a social narrative that questions our position as solo adventurers in the first place.

I biked out of the airport, feeling giddy. The air was cool, and the road stretched forward in a long, silent curve. The Icelandic sun hung on the edge of the horizon. I had the road to myself, but where would it lead me? 

We all have times in our lives when we become stuck, when motion stagnates and habits betray us. We are busy but unhappy. This seeming lack of motion holds its own energy, like a spring that coils deeper and deeper into itself, just waiting to propel us forward. All we have to do is set ourselves loose.