Destination Wellness 2.0

Four years later, we begin again

Hey everyone,

It’s been a minute since my last post! Or actually, a casual FOUR YEARS. Not sure how that happened, but here we are. 🤷‍♀️

I’ve decided 2025 is the year I relaunch this Substack. The moment is now. And since I’ve gotten a bunch of new subscribers since my last post in December 2020, I figured I’d take a minute to introduce myself, or reintroduce myself, and let you know what you can expect from this newsletter moving forward.

So! I’m Annie.

You probably know this already, but I’m an NYC-based freelance travel/wellness/culture writer, author, and former magazine editor (I spent 12 years on staff at a variety of publications, both print and digital, including Cosmo, SELF, BuzzFeed Travel, Yahoo! Travel, & more).

I’ve written two books: Destination Wellness (out in 2021), and Island Wisdom (out in 2022), which I co-wrote with Native Hawaiian cultural expert Kainoa Daines. Both books are about well-being lessons from around the world that have stood the test of time—plus how to weave those lessons into your life at home wherever you live. They are also the result of my lifelong dream to become an author, a dream I still can’t believe came true!! (You can read more about how my first book came to be, as well as all the wellness lessons I learned reporting it, in this essay for Vogue.)

In many ways, this *relaunched* Substack will be an extension of my books, filled with all of the globally-inspired life advice. When people hear I’m a travel writer, they often ask me for my vacation recommendations, or my carry-on packing tips, or my favorite hotels around the world. I certainly have answers to all those questions, but my favorite kind of travel writing—and the kind you will likely read most from me here—is a bit more anthropological by nature. Less about the logistics of the trip itself, and more about the meaningful local wisdom I picked up while I was on it. Last year, for example, I traveled to Zanzibar for Vogue to report on the “Mwani Mamas,” a group of Zanzibari women changing their lives through seaweed farming. One of my biggest takeaway lessons from that trip was the Swahili phrase “pole pole,” which translates to “slowly, slowly.” As I wrote in the article, “People use ‘pole pole’ all the time in Zanzibar, and after spending a week there myself, I came to understand it as an entire lifestyle philosophy, not just a simple directive: Maybe take a beat and let things unfold. Don’t assume that faster means better. The best things in life take time.” It’s been nearly a year since that Zanzibar trip, and I still try to live my life the “pole pole” way every day. I truly believe that travel is the best teacher, *and* that the best trips can continue long after you return home. I hope both of those philosophies continue to shine through in future posts.

But we’ll cover other stuff, too!

I’m a big music nerd, so you can expect a fair amount of cultural commentary on that front. While I’ve never worked at a music magazine, and therefore don’t consider myself a true “expert” in that way, I’ve been genuinely obsessed with music (namely folk, rock, jam, reggae, hip-hop, and a bit of electronic) since I was a kid. Some of my favorite books are music memoirs (especially love Petty by Warren Zanes), and my favorite movies tend to be rock documentaries and musician biopics. I’ve dabbled in music writing over the years, from this Phish explainer for New York mag’s Vulture to this Joni Mitchell essay for Vogue to this Chronixx profile for SELF, but I plan to explore more of that here in the coming months. I played piano, clarinet, and violin growing up, and recently took up guitar (a fun new hobby!), so perhaps I’ll even share some insights on learning a new instrument as an adult.

No matter what, you will definitely be on the receiving end of some obsessively-curated playlists. I spend hours upon hours crafting them for every occasion, especially trips, and I must say they are quite good. Whenever I land in a new destination, my first question for the cab or Uber driver is: What’s your favorite local band? Music is one of my favorite portals into a new culture, and definitely my favorite souvenir. (Quick preview: I’ve been working on my “Jamaica Spirit” playlist for years, ever since my first trip there in 2015, and it’s still one of my favorites…especially in winter when I need some tropical vibes.)

Another topic I’ll likely touch on here is IVF. I’ve been going through it for the past three and a half years, which is three and a half years too long, despite my gratitude for the access. And I’ve become a bit of an accidental infertility expert along the way. I kept my experience to myself for the first two years, but in September 2023, I finally broke the seal and published my first IVF essay in Condé Nast Traveler about how travel has helped me through the pain. The response to that essay was so touching. Incredible, really…a true outpouring of love and support. Since then, I’ve written a bunch more about my experience, including this essay for Cosmo, this one for InStyle, this one for Allure, and this one for Vogue, to name a few.

The sheer volume of feedback from all of my IVF work continues to show me how important it is to talk about infertility, which is often shrouded in shame. As a former women’s magazine editor, I’ve long known that sharing stories and information about possibly “taboo” topics helps others going through it feel less alone; that’s pretty much the essence of the genre. But experiencing the magnitude of the response firsthand was a good reminder of *just* how important it is to be real and vulnerable when it matters most. That said, I probably won’t devote tons of newsletter real estate to my IVF experience, because I’ve covered it so much already—but I’ll surely continue to share bits and pieces as the process continues. If nothing else, it’ll come up by default, as it impacts every single area of my life…and I’m here to share that life with you.

In short, welcome to Destination Wellness 2.0, a (relaunched) newsletter that will cover all of my specialties: travel, wellness, music, books, infertility, author life, NYC stories, and more. You can expect a mix of globally-inspired wellness advice, curated travel recommendations, profiles of interesting people around the world, author Q&As, cultural commentary, and photo essays. I’m keeping it free for now, but will likely turn on paid subscriptions in a bit, once I get back into the swing of things.

I’m so, so happy you’re here. Thanks for reading! xx