I was in a major car accident in May of 2022 and spent a couple weeks in the hospital and am currently in recovery. I’m expected to make a full recovery, but it’s been a long journey and has meant a number of months without writing. This fall, I’m getting back into writing again.
Travel in the Age of Covid-19
Read my original piece on the Daily Beast, with advice on how to survive traveling in an age of anxiety and Covid-19.
Seabirds and Sea Lions: A Baggage excerpt
Enjoy this excerpt from Baggage for Go Nomad.
My interview with Theravive
Read this interview about how I approached writing a mental illness and travel memoir with Theravive
Metropolitan Molly interviews me
Read our conversation about me about travel, the pandemic, and how to live a full life even with mental illness
How’s this for a change?
Mongabay interviews… me! Read my feature interview with Mongabay on my book Baggage, traveling with OCD, and some of my favorite travel moments.
Listen to me on the Zoo Logic Podcast
We talk about my upcoming book Baggage, as well as mental health, current environmental issues, overpopulation, and zoos!

New Mongabay column on overpopulation
My latest column for Mongabay: the one where I rant about the best news of 2020.
The Buzz About my Insect Series

I feel ridiculously honored that my series on insect decline won second place in Society of Environmental Journalists‘ annual awards. The series won under the category of “Explanatory Journalism.
Of course I couldn’t have done any of this without my editor Glenn Scherer (who had the idea for the series in the first place) and Mongabay‘s willingness to spend resources on a long series about the loss of the freaking backbone of Mother Earth: insects.
So, it’s a good time to share the series again. Here’s the first article of four. I’m currently working on a follow-up piece!
Baggage Pre-Order Contest

You can’t have too many books about nature, right? And did you know that pre-orders really help books get on to bestseller lists?
With that in mind, we invite anyone who has pre-ordered Baggage by August 9th, 2020 to enter for a chance to win one of the seven nature-inspired books. We’ll pick three winners the next week. Check out the bottom of the page for Terms & Conditions as well as information about the titles you can choose from.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE QUICK 3-QUESTION SUBMISSION FORM
TERMS & CONDITIONS
- By submitting your receipt in the Baggage Pre-Order Contest Form or via email, you agree to these Terms & Conditions.
- Entrants have until August 9, 2020 to purchase and submit their receipt via the Jotform Survey above or emailed to jlhance@gmail.com.
- This promotion is open to entrants who are at least 14 years old as of August 3, 2020.
- One entry per purchase.
- No entrant may receive more than one prize.
- Prizes are non-transferable and non-refundable. No cash alternative is available.
- Three separate entries will win (via random picker) their selected nature book, which we will do our best to mail your selected book to you anywhere in the world.
- Unsuccessful entrants will not be notified.
- We may amend or cancel the promotion at any time for any reason without notice. We may amend these Terms & Conditions without notice by posting changes to them on this website.