ABOUT ME
I grew up in New England, with an identical twin, a younger brother, and a menagerie of animals. I did some goofy things as an adolescent: I learned all the constellations in the Western Hemisphere; I regularly rode my banana-seat bicycle for miles to read Archie comics at the general store; I built a boat out of milk cartons, then convinced others to join me on the river, then waded to shore with them when it broke up in the first rapid.
I graduated from Stanford University, where I studied Communications. At the time I had a vague idea that perhaps I would become a documentary filmmaker. Instead, in 1989, I became a San Francisco firefighter.
In 1998, I wrote Fighting Fire, with an updated version of my almost-fourteen year career coming out in 2011. It was shortlisted for the California Book Awards, and it was an alternate Book of Month Club selection.
The most remote place I’ve been is Siberia, where I saw an Unidentified Flying Object that may or may not have been the Soviet military. The highest place I’ve been was on a mountain bike in the Bolivian Andes back when mountain bikes were scarce and 15,000 feet didn’t hurt as much as it would now. The most isolated I’ve ever felt was in a blizzard on Denali, where we had to stay in the tent and pee into a Gatorade bottle.
My novel East Wind, Rain came out in 2006. It takes place on a tiny, mysterious Hawaiian island, just after Pearl Harbor is attacked and is based closely on a true, tragic story. It became a bestseller in both the Bay Area and Hawaii. In 2013, the illustrated memoir Lost Cat, A True Story of Love, Desperation and GPS Technology was published. It’s less about cats and more about lost humans. It was named a Best Book of the Year by Jezebel and by the influential website Brain Pickings and has been translated into 15 languages.
In 2015, I wrote the New York Times bestseller The Gutsy Girl: Escapades for Your Life of Epic Adventure. Part memoir, part how-to-outdoors guide, the book offers life lessons through adventure stories. It's Lean In for middle-grade girls, set not in the workplace but on bicycles, tree branches, sea kayaks, and cliff edges. In 2018, You Are Mighty: A Guide to Changing the World came out just as teens around the country were taking a stand against gun violence. This illustrated book teaches kids 9 -to-12-years-old how to improve their communities in a constructive, thoughtful way. That year I also published A Little Tea Book, which I co-wrote with swashbuckling tea entrepreneur Sebastian Beckwith.
I spent the pandemic as the cinematographer/ gaffer/sound mixer/caterer/animal wrangler on DrawTogether with WendyMac, a half hour Instagram Live art class conceived by my wife, the artist Wendy MacNaughton. What started out as a seat-of-the pants operation intent on helping some local kids (and parents!) through the lockdown soon became a global phenomenon, thanks to Wendy’s wit and our dog’s willingness to wear an array of funny hats. We eventually completed more than 70 shows, helping countless people heal through art as the world gradually opened up and the pandemic receded.
During this time I also researched Tough Broad: From Boogie Boarding to Wing Walking, How Outdoor Adventure Improves Our Lives as We Age. This book is my quest to understand how to live a dynamic life in a changing body, and why getting older is actually the best time to try new things and challenge oneself physically, particularly in the outdoors. I dive deep into the current research on aging and highlight the often surprising results by going on a myriad of adventures with charismatic women who range from an 80-year-old scuba diver to someone who birdwatches from her wheelchair, to the many septuagenarian Wave Chasers boogie boarding together in the Pacific Ocean. “As engrossing as it is inspiring,” said Bookpage.
My latest book is an exploration of flight, and of the human heart. Why Fly: Seeking Awe, Healing, and Our True Selves in the Sky follows my obsession with learning to fly a gyrocopter as my long-term marriage is dissolving. I also look at the history, the physics, and the deep impact of flight on others, from the brave Night Witches who flew biplanes against the Luftwaffe, to the ultralight pilots who believe they can save endangered birds by becoming one of the flock, to the many people afraid to step on a passenger plane.
Writing never happens in a vacuum. I've been part of the Writers Grotto since 1999; without that community I would have quit this strange career, or gone insane, years ago. I'm also constantly inspired by my kickass siblings: my identical twin is the accomplished actress and activist Alexandra Paul, and my brother is the righteous animal rights leader, Jonathan Paul.
