World of Calm & Calm Sleep Stories

Where my Buddhist nun training, travel writing, and love of research all come together for your relaxation...

Kingdom of The Sky

This CNN article, “It’s easy to nod off to ‘sleep stories.’ Making them is hard,” opens with a discussion of Kingdom of the Sky (incidentally, the first Sleep Story I ever wrote, based on a horse trek I took in Lesotho and voiced by superstar Idris Elba as part of a celebrity partnership with RED). What an initiation into the world of writing sleep stories! (As the article points out, there are lots of rules for helping listeners fall asleep.):

Kingdom of the Sky: Lesotho (Sleep Story celebrity collaboration). Released: December 1, 2020.

---

The Land of Springs: Jamaica

This commissioned story wouldn’t have been possible without the help of my California College of the Arts colleague Steve Jones, who’s Jamaican and connected me with a cousin who helped vet the character I created and the path I charted circumnavigating the island by boat.

The Land of Springs: Jamaica (Sleep Story). Released: November 20, 2021.

---

The Waters of Senegal

I pitched this story and am particularly proud of the research involved in this ocean voyage from Dakar, down through Gambia, to the Casamance Region. It’s got dolphins, manatees, griots (West African storytellers), baobab trees, and lots of local cultural practices. This story was also based on a real trip I took.

The Waters of Senegal (Sleep Story). Released: August 2022.

---

The Artist: Basquiat in New York

The research for this one entailed visiting the amazing King Pleasure exhibit curated in New York City by Basquiat's sisters and speaking to my pal Jordana Sagesse, author of the definitive Basquiat biography. The story is set during a single iconic day in the brilliant artist’s life.

The Artist: Basquiat in New York (Sleep Story). Released: February 28, 2023.

---

A Horse's Tale and Water, Giver of Life

During the pandemic, CALM partnered with HBO-Max to create a 10-part relaxing documentary series with gorgeous footage and celebrity narrators. The acclaimed series was nominated for Best Structured Series, Critics’ Choice Real TV Awards, and HBO nominated me for an Emmy in Writing for my two episodes:

A Horse's Tale showcases the adaptability and communication of wild horses, feral horses, and horses in the hottest and coldest places on earth.

Water, Giver of Life follows the life cycle of water in southern Africa, from the Indian Ocean to desert rain, from river mythology to raging Victoria Falls.

None of this would have been possible without Candace Rose Rardon, who writes and illustrates her own Sleep Stories and generously recommended me to Calm. She’s a true ally and talented travel sketch artist. Check out her amazing work and subscribe to her Substack, Dandelion Seeds!