Corrinne Brumby: a lover of nature and wildlife. When I was an infant my grandma gave me a plush penguin named Penny Gwen as a gift, and so began my love for penguins and all animals. I started collecting plush penguins and other animals. Whenever I went to the library I would check out any books on animals I could find. I read the encyclopedia for fun because I loved to learn about our world.
My childhood dream was to become a zoologist and observe penguins and other animals in the wild. Along the way, I discovered my love for writing. I started writing in high school by journaling my thoughts and feelings. Both nature and writing helped me through the roughest times. As I was discovering myself and fighting moments of depression and anxiety, walks in nature and writing cleared my head and brought emotional healing.
I was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2020, at the age of 25. I always knew I was different but didn’t know why. I struggled with sensory sensitivities my whole life, thinking something was wrong with me. I did not know how to help myself. Now, I’m learning my own strengths and weaknesses and how to live in this world that so often misunderstands and fails to accommodate neurodivergent people. Autism is a spectrum and affects people differently, but we have many similarities.
Every day I struggle with social interaction. I often misunderstand and fail to communicate my own needs. This results in me going mute and feeling unable to speak in many situations. I have sensory difficulties. All my senses are heightened. Too many noises or noises slightly above a certain volume make me anxious and uncomfortable and leads to me being overloaded and shutting down. I can be overloaded by flashing lights, strong textures, flavors, and certain smells among other things. This can make daily life difficult.
Writing has been my way to communicate when I often struggle to communicate verbally. And nature has grounded me in a world that is often too overwhelming.
I enjoy experiencing and writing about plants and wildlife both in my home, Florida, and in the various places I visit around the world. I hope to connect people with the many plant and animal species we share this planet with, especially the ones we often overlook. They all deserve to be recognized, enjoyed, and respected. At the same time, I hope to inspire people to more deeply connect with themselves, and often nature helps us do that.
I write in a variety of genres including fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. I earned my Bachelor’s of Arts in English and Creative Writing with concentrations in fiction and nonfiction and a minor in Business Writing from Southern New Hampshire University, and my MFA in Creative Writing – Nature Writing from Western Colorado University.
I completed my thesis Song of Salt and Sand: Discovering True Self in Florida which focuses on the various ecosystems in Florida and how immersing in these places helped me reconnect with myself and the world around me. I am also writing many essays, short stories, and poems and submitting them for publication. I also wrote and edited for two years with Odyssey where I published weekly articles about life, nature, and other topics. I currently am the Web Content and Assistant Editor at Deep Wild Journal.
My short story “Ghost Orchid” won the 2019/2020 prize for fiction in Pathfinder Magazine at Western Colorado University. My essay “The Distance That Brings Us Together” was a finalist in The Great Isolation Contest at Western Colorado University and is published in the resulting anthology, and my poem, “A Different Normal,” was published in Magical Women Magazine. My essay, “The Nature of Healing,” was published in Mental Rhythm Magazine, and my essays, “I am a Daisy,” and “Right to Breathe,” were published in Door is a Jar Magazine.
I live with my family in Central Florida. In addition to writing, I enjoy watching movies and shows and playing games with my family. I love hiking and playing violin and volunteer at the local Audubon Center for Birds of Prey.
Corrinne Brumby 