How I Ended Up Here
Hi, I’m Michelle Eidam.
I’m a writer based in Bend, Oregon.
Before this, I spent fifteen years as a firefighter paramedic and Fire Captain with the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District. For five of those years, I also served as a Public Information Officer, working regularly with reporters and learning that the obvious story isn’t always the interesting one.
Apparently, I brought that habit with me.
I pay attention.
I’m interested in the person who knows something I don’t. The detail that doesn’t quite add up. The ordinary thing with an unexpected history. The question that leads to another question.
So I follow those threads.
Sometimes they lead nowhere. Sometimes I discover I had it completely wrong. And sometimes I find a story I wasn’t looking for at all.
Those are usually my favorites.
I still travel—a lot. I hike, snowboard, eat very well, take the scenic route and occasionally make a questionable decision that turns into a very good story. My husband, Ty, is usually somewhere nearby, and our family and friends make regular appearances too.
But Not Your Typical Path has become less about where I go and more about what I find when I’m paying attention.
Interesting people. Unusual places. Unexpected connections. Sometimes something completely ordinary that I can’t stop thinking about.
I write about those things here.
Thanks for being here.
— Michelle
Less scrolling. More stories worth telling.
