Hi, I'm Leila. I'm a writer, mother, and storyteller collecting the pieces of family, identity, belonging, and home.
What you'll find here
Stories, poems, books, and advocacy rooted in family, identity, belonging, and home.
Through poetry, personal essays, and lived experience, I write about motherhood, faith, grief, memory, and the stories we inherit and pass on. Whether you're here for a poem, a blog post, or one of my books, I hope you find words that help you remember, understand, and belong.
Through poetry, personal essays, and lived experience, I write about motherhood, faith, grief, memory, and the stories we inherit and pass on. Whether you're here for a poem, a blog post, or one of my books, I hope you find words that help you remember, understand, and belong.
I'm glad you found your way here. If you'd like to stay awhile, join me over at Between Here & Home.
Written in poems
Storm of Hope tells the story of surviving preeclampsia, premature birth, and postpartum depression through journal entries and poetry. It is a record of the storm—and the fragile, hard-won hope that followed.
I love the life I live--
saying it until it becomes true.
To learn more, click here.
I love the life I live--
saying it until it becomes true.
To learn more, click here.
PMDD & Me is a collection written through cycles of joy, rage, anxiety, and depression. Each piece offers observation, awareness, and the truth of living alongside PMDD—where both darkness and light exist, and where illness does not erase identity.
There is PMDD—and then there is me.
To learn more, click here.
There is PMDD—and then there is me.
To learn more, click here.
Written in story
Letters to Lenora is a novel about a young woman navigating grief, faith, and love after receiving letters her mother wrote before her death. Through memory and longing, Lenora learns what it means to forgive what was left unsaid.
To learn more, click here.
To learn more, click here.
Advocacy
Advocacy isn’t separate from my writing — it’s part of why I show up in the world.
Through maternal health awareness, lived-experience storytelling, and patient-centered spaces, I work to expand understanding of preeclampsia, postpartum mood disorders, and the realities many families face.
I’ve shared stories with medical professionals, panel audiences, and community allies — not for applause, but to widen the circle of care and compassion.
If you’re curious about advocacy, maternal health, or how stories can shape systems, explore my posts and reflections in the blog.
Through maternal health awareness, lived-experience storytelling, and patient-centered spaces, I work to expand understanding of preeclampsia, postpartum mood disorders, and the realities many families face.
I’ve shared stories with medical professionals, panel audiences, and community allies — not for applause, but to widen the circle of care and compassion.
If you’re curious about advocacy, maternal health, or how stories can shape systems, explore my posts and reflections in the blog.
At the Texas Collaborative for Healthy Mothers & Babies (TCHMB) and I found a table with the Hear Her Texas campaign. I was featured in their series. Forever grateful and humbled for choosing to listen to my story.
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This was the first big panel I had ever been on. There were a little over 500 doctors, nurses, medical professionals, etc who listened to the 3 of us share our lived-in patient experiences.
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✨ Currently Writing ✨
Love, Lumpia & Words — a poetry collection about immigration, identity, family stories, and belonging.
Currently in consideration
Tides, Tinola & Me (or possibly, Letters to Leyte) — poems, memories, and questions on my to return to Tacloban after 31 years.
This space is still becoming, and I'm grateful you're here while it grows.
Currently in consideration
Tides, Tinola & Me (or possibly, Letters to Leyte) — poems, memories, and questions on my to return to Tacloban after 31 years.
This space is still becoming, and I'm grateful you're here while it grows.