Karen Emslie

Freelance

Karen Emslie is a Scottish writer and essayist. She has written for Smithsonian, GOOD, Discover, Huck, BBC Wildlife & more. She is 100% Vagabond and is currently in Patagonia.

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Written by Karen Emslie

People struggling to walk against strong winds on a misty, wet road. One person holds an umbrella. Rain and fog obscure visibility.

essayBiography and memoir

Riding the wind

Hot and bothersome or exhilarating and wild: winds blow through the mind as strongly as they blow through the landscape

Karen Emslie

A woman working on a laptop indoors at night viewed from outside through a window, with dark curtains and a dimly lit room.

essaySleep and dreams

Broken sleep

People once woke up halfway through the night to think, write or make love. What have we lost by sleeping straight through?

Karen Emslie

Black and white photo of a silhouetted person pressing their hands against curtains with light filtering through from behind.

essayConsciousness and altered states

Hallucinogenic nights

Sleep paralysis has tormented me since childhood. But now it’s my portal to out-of-body travel and lucid dreams

Karen Emslie