& Editor-in-Chief

Meet the woman carrying the lantern.

Lantern Grace- Lantern Grace Issue No. 1

There are moments in life when the road quietly calls your name.

Sometimes it’s the mountains in the distance. Sometimes it’s the feeling that there must be more beauty in the world than we’ve allowed ourselves to notice. And sometimes it’s simply the whisper of freedom carried on the wind.

Lantern Grace began with that feeling.

Lantern Grace was created as a way to slow down and move through the world with intention—following quiet roads, climbing mountain trails, wandering through cities and villages, and discovering the stories waiting in places many people pass by too quickly. It is not a journal of luxury or checklists. It is an invitation to experience the world with curiosity, depth, and wonder.

The lantern has long been a symbol of guidance along dark paths. For me, it represents something even deeper: faith lighting the road ahead, even when we cannot yet see where the journey leads.

The road begins here in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, where the air feels different, and the ridges stretch endlessly toward the horizon. The first steps of this journey will take us through the Blue Ridge Parkway, the small streets of Boone, roadside diners and hotdog stands, quiet churches, and the trails that wind through the forests of these mountains.

Eventually, the lantern will travel farther. Across the country. Perhaps even across oceans. But every journey begins with a single mile.

In time, you may hear about something called the Grace Wagon—the little traveling basecamp that will carry this journal along the road. For now, the journey begins simply: with a camera, a notebook, and the belief that life is richer when we share the road together.

If you’re reading these pages, you are already part of that journey.

My hope is that Lantern Grace feels less like a publication and more like a companion. A place where we can pause, breathe in the mountain air, and remember that the world is still full of wonder.

The lantern is lit.

Let’s walk the road together.

Taylor D. Burke

Founder & Editor-in-Chief

Lantern Grace