The Last Page You'll Read Before the World Gets Bigger

I didn't plan this.

Between the Covers was supposed to stay in Canada. That was the vision. That was safe. Build something here, serve the women who need it, keep it honest, keep it real, keep it manageable.

And then my best friend called.

Lesley. The same Lesley I opened the first-ever performing arts school in the Middle East with, back when we were young and stupid and thought we could change the world with tap shoes and determination. She moved to Marbella a few years ago, and now she's opening a culture hall there, because of course she is. Lesley doesn't do small.

She saw what we were building with BTC. The raw storytelling. The refusal to sanitize women's lives. The whole "let's talk about the shit no one else wants to talk about" energy.

And she said: "This needs to be in Marbella."

I laughed. I think I said something like, "That's insane."

And then I thought about it.

And I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Here's the thing: I spent ten years of my life in the Middle East. I know what it's like to live between cultures, to code-switch, to exist in spaces where people make assumptions about you before you even open your mouth. I know what it's like to be misunderstood. To be exoticized. To be reduced to someone else's limited imagination of what your life must be like.

And I've watched the same thing happen to women, everywhere.

In Canada, we assume women in the Middle East are oppressed and silent. In the Middle East, they assume Western women are lost and morally bankrupt. In Europe, everyone's got an opinion about everyone else. And meanwhile, the actual women, the ones living these lives, are navigating the same shit: identity, reinvention, motherhood, ambition, heartbreak, aging, starting over, trying to find themselves in the mess.

Different languages. Different streets. Different coffee orders.

Same story.

And I thought: What if we could create a space where those women could actually see each other?

Not as stereotypes. Not as ideas. But as real, complicated, brilliant, messy humans.

What if Between the Covers could be the bridge?

So Marbella happened.

And it wasn't some polished, strategic "expansion plan." It was me and Lesley on a video call, probably drinking wine, saying, "Let's just do it and see what happens."

And what happened was… magic.

Women showed up. Entrepreneurs, mothers, women reinventing themselves in their 40s, 50s, 60s. Women who needed to hear that their story mattered now, not when life calms down, not when the kids grow up, not when they finally have their shit together.

The energy was different. The sun was different. The stories were different. But the core? The heartbeat? Exactly the same.

And I realized: this works. This travels.

So we're going to Dubai next.

Because if Marbella taught me that women everywhere are hungry for the same honesty, Dubai is going to prove that culture, religion, and geography don't change what we need from each other: truth, connection, and a reminder that we're not alone in this.

Dubai will bring its own flavor, women leading companies, building legacies, navigating impossible expectations, rewriting the rules while everyone watches. But underneath all that glamour and ambition? The same questions. The same fears. The same fire.

Here's what I'm trying to build, and I need you to understand, this terrifies me as much as it excites me:

One app. Every edition. Every city. One global community.

You subscribe to Between the Covers, and you don't just get Canada. You get Marbella. You get Dubai. You get every city we land in next, because once we start, I don't think we'll be able to stop.

You get the stories no one else is telling. The topics no one else wants to touch. Menopause, rage, reinvention, sex, identity, burnout, boundaries, joy, heartbreak, all of it, everywhere.

And yeah, you get perks. Real ones. Not the bullshit "10% off a thing you don't need" kind. I'm talking: exclusive events in every city we touch. Curated experiences. Hidden gems and vetted spots recommended by women who actually live there, not influencers who got paid to post about them. A global passport to connection, people, places, culture, community.

Whether you're traveling or dreaming about traveling, the app becomes your way in. To real life. To real women. To the parts of the world you thought you understood but probably don't.

This isn't about building an empire.

It's about building a table. A big one. With chairs for everyone.

Because I've been around the world. I've lived in the Middle East, modeled in Europe, survived more airports than I can count. And the one thing I know for sure is this:

We are not as different as they want us to believe.

The borders, the stereotypes, the assumptions, they're all designed to keep us separate. To keep us small. To make us think our struggles are ours alone.

But they're not.

And Between the Covers is becoming the space where we stop pretending they are.

I'm not going to beg you to subscribe. I'm not going to promise you'll "join a movement" or "find your tribe" or whatever corporate buzzwords make people feel warm and fuzzy.

What I will say is this:

If you've ever felt unseen, unheard, or misunderstood, in your city, your culture, your life, this is for you.

If you've ever wondered what it's really like to live in Marbella, Dubai, Toronto, or anywhere else without the Instagram filter, this is for you.

If you've ever wanted to connect with women who get it, who live it, who don't need you to have your shit together to deserve a seat at the table, this is for you.

Between the Covers isn't just a magazine anymore.

It's becoming a world.

And I have no idea where this goes next. But I know it's going to be honest. It's going to be messy. It's going to be real.

And I really hope you come with me.

Because the world is big. But the stories? The stories make it feel like home.