Hi, I’m Mary.

I’m a writer, historian, graduate student, wife, and mom who is endlessly curious about the world and the people who inhabit it.

I hold a bachelor’s degree in History and am currently pursuing a master’s degree in International Policy Management. My academic background has taught me to look for patterns, ask questions, and think critically about the forces that shape our lives. But some of the most important lessons I’ve learned haven’t come from textbooks; they’ve come from everyday life, from raising children, navigating uncertainty, and trying to understand a world that often feels complicated and contradictory.

What began as an interest in history has grown into a broader fascination with the stories we tell ourselves about who we are, where we’ve been, and where we’re headed. I’m particularly interested in the intersections of history, politics, culture, memory, faith, art, and the human experience.

I don’t write because I have all the answers. I write because I’m trying to make sense of the questions.

Through Notes from the Margin, I explore those questions one essay at a time, connecting the past to the present and the personal to the political. My hope is not to tell readers what to think, but to invite them to think more deeply alongside me.

When I’m not writing or studying, you’ll usually find me spending time with my family, reading, training for half marathons I don’t have time to sign up for, or falling down a research rabbit hole I didn’t expect to find myself in.

Thanks for being here.