Dawn Downey, an essayist, finds inspiration in everyday situations. Topics under her scrutiny range from her pursuit of the perfect purse to her search for the meaning of life. Toss in jealousy, prejudice, guilt, and inadequacy for good measure. Thanks to a spiritual path that winds through the teachings of the Buddha and around to non-duality, she now enjoys a kinder, gentler relationship with her eccentricities. Secretly, she'd rather be a rock star, but since she can't sing, settles for reading her stories wherever there's a microphone and an audience. From the first day azaleas bloom until the night black-eyed susans give in to a hard freeze, find her on the patio, tending a container garden. She lives in Kansas City with her husband, Ben Worth. He spoils her rotten. She reciprocates.Downey's essays have been published by River Blood and Corn, The Christian Science Monitor, Shambhala Sun, Skirt! Magazine, Kansas City Voices: A Periodical of Writing and Art, and The Best Times. Her work is anthologized in Alzheimer's Anthology of Unconditional Love: The 110,000 Missourians with Alzheimer's, My Dad is My Hero: Tributes to the Men Who Gave Us Life, Love, and Driving Lessons, and Pooled Ink: Celebrating the 2012 NCW Contest Winners. Her writing has earned awards from the Missouri Writers Guild, Oklahoma Writers Federation, Northern Colorado Writers, and the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. For a monthly essay in your email, subscribe to her newsletter at DawnDowney.com.