🌱 Under the Foliated Roof is a romcom by Allison Lau in which a chaotic plant influencer and a serious real estate agent unwillingly become roommates. When their soil-filled battle for home ownership buds into a tenuous coexistence, they begin to wonder if the fight is really about the house or about who’s in it.

Welcome, you’ve found the Under the Foliated Roof Table of Contents, aka hyperlink central. You’ll find all chapters here, plus bonus content, including all UTFR art (all made by real, talented humans and not AI!).

Introduction to UTFR

Under the Foliated Roof

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Art

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👋🏻 Meet your Monkey Girl

Hi, I’m Allison aka Monkey Girl—a published author, PhD scientist, and trusted book editor.

I’m reclaiming my story, one chapter, one essay, one monkey at a time. Read the latest chapters of my romcom every Monday, and keep your eyes peeled for essays on monkeys, motherhood, and publishing.

When I’m not typing away at my computer, I’m usually on a plane with my husband and toddler, or defending my three very patient cats from said toddler.

Thanks for being here, truly. If you have thoughts, questions, anything, send me a message. I read every word and I’d love to hear from you.

Photography by the brilliant c.m.elle studios.

It has driven Danny (husband) bananas for years.

Danny:

“You should work in AI.”

“AI is the future.”

“Have you done any machine learning? It sounds like tech’s hiring people with your background.”

Me:

“It doesn’t really interest me.”

“Nah, that’s such a saturated field.”

“It doesn’t get me excited.”

Flash forward to this past week…

There’s a job I really want. I’m applying to it. Danny jumped out of his seat when I told him what it is.

“That’s what I’ve been saying you should do for years!”

This made both of us pause. He’s right. He’s been telling me to leverage my skills in this general direction for a long time.

So, why do I want this job, working on machine learning, leveraging unsupervised AI? Why do I want this job when I’ve scrolled past hundreds of thousands of others just like it?

The WHY.

The why matters to me. Far more than the what.

Always has.

I can claim professional-level status at hosing monkey turds down the drain.

Ew. The what is gross. But the why? Because they’re research subjects and caring for them allowed me to contribute to them living in a safe, clean environment—the least I can do in thanks for their service as laboratory monkeys, in my opinion.

My PhD says “Animal Behavior” not “Monkey Feces Expert,”

not “Champion Grape Slicer,”

not “#1 Mosquito Snack of the Peruvian Amazon,”

not “Emergency transporter of thousands of urine samples from a dying freezer in the middle of a California heat wave.”

I’ve done weird things as a primatologist, biologist, scientist—whatever hat or lab coat or binoculars or medical scrubs I’m wearing that day.

The reality is, I’ve been a ghostwriter my entire life.

Stick with me.

As a teen, I wrote my own reality hidden within fictional characters.

As a biologist, I write the reality of animals who don’t share our language. I ghostwrite their stories in the numbers, graphs, and fairly stiff prose of scientific papers.

To me, science is the process of uncovering stories untold.

We push the boundaries of human knowledge by digging deep, looking for what’s not yet known, and finding ways to answer the questions that arise.

For me, the scientific method is fascinating. If there’s an interesting WHY behind it.

Stats and computational power only mean something to me if there’s a WHY behind it that I can sink my teeth into.

My WHY is understanding animals.

Their lives, their personalities, their realities.

Remember during COVID lockdowns when Venice’s canals cleared and dolphins moved back in?

That’s the sh*t I lose my mind over because HOW FREAKING COOL IS THAT.

What can we learn from that? About local ecosystem recovery? About global climate change? About species resilience?

That’s one tiny micro-example of the intersection of wildlife and the environment.

What if machine learning and AI can help us ask those questions but on far larger scales, with far more power, and provide predictions about what might happen to animal populations within a rapidly changing global environment?

It’s hard to convey a why in an academic job application.

The applications are formulaic, the writing is dense, and the tone is a combination of respectful deference and plausibly deniable overconfidence.

I’m going to break the rules this time.

I just wrote my cover letter and it’s unlike any cover letter I’ve written before. Is it a Letter of Motivation?

Yes.

Is it what academics expect a Letter of Motivation to look like?

Not in the slightest.

We’ll see what happens.

If there’s anything I’ve learned over the past decade, it’s that following my gut, my muse, my creative whims… that’s often where I find the most “success”.

So cross your fingers for me. I haven’t said which job this is or pasted the link here on purpose. Take this as a subtle manifestation to the universe (and the professor who’s hiring) to consider a slightly wacky but very ME application.

-Allison

👋🏻 Meet your Monkey Girl

Hi, I’m Allison aka Monkey Girl—a published author, PhD scientist, and trusted book editor.

I’m reclaiming my story, one chapter, one essay, one monkey at a time. Read my romcom Love Letter to Wanderlust, and keep your eyes peeled for my 👣 Path to Published series.

My latest and loudest series to date is BIG. DUMB. MAMMAL. where I’m sharing all the details of pregnancy, from the perspective of a biologist living this process in real time.

When I’m not typing away at my computer, I’m usually on a plane with my husband and toddler, or defending my three very patient cats from said toddler.

Thanks for being here, truly. If you have thoughts, questions, anything, send me a message. I read every word and I’d love to hear from you.

Photography by the brilliant c.m.elle studios.

I reached out to a friend yesterday asking for a favor.

We hadn’t spoken in nearly 8 months (according to our iMessage thread).

I told her I am pregnant, Fletcher’s a whole toddler, hope her kiddos are well, and oh here’s a professional favor if she’s doesn’t mind.

Her response, “I’m so glad you’re okay!”

This took me by surprise.

“I hadn’t seen you on socials at all. I actually asked [other friend] about you recently.”

GUYS.

That’s so kind.

I’m okay! I promise!

I deleted Instagram and Threads over a month ago. So yeah, it’s been quiet over there.

And then again this week, I blew past my Monday and Wednesday target pub dates, leaving you Substack loyals high and dry without the gift of my chatter in your inbox! (sarcasm; in case you didn’t add that in yourself)

As I got my brain back at the transition from first to second trimester, I had the wherewithal to realize that I’d invested far too much of my precious time into scrolling. While entertaining, I’d let my few scraps of attention get sucked away by Meta and Mark Zuckerberg’s empire.

Which, fine. There’s a time and place. There’s a reason I love Instagram and Threads.

But when I’m energetically limited, it’s not particularly fair to myself (or my family!) for me to give my tiny scraps of brain power to Meta.

And please don’t read this as a workaholic, must be productive vibe.

I’ve replaced scrolling with ebooks and I’ve read a dozen books this past month, purely from the time I used to scroll while putting Fletcher to sleep for naps or bedtime.

And it’s done something lovely to my brain: I’m more creative. I’m more grounded. And I WANT to write every day.

Not in the “I should write because I know it’ll be good for me and make me happy,” way, but in the “my fingers are itching to move on a keyboard, get OUT OF MY WAY desperation to get words out of my brain and onto the page.”

And that’s one of my favorite feelings in the world.

But yesterday was such a nice reminder that even when we think nobody’s paying attention, we have a larger community who cares and is invested in us and notices when and where we do and don’t show up.

I appreciate this friend saying something, as she’s also aware that sometimes when I go silent, it’s a sign I’m in a depressive episode. Luckily not this time!

Anyway, if you’re someone who’s reading this or who notices my absence of Threads only I find funny or mediocre photos on Instagram, thank you for caring. I know your heart and mind and time are precious and I’m lucky you give a scrap of brain to thinking about me.

I’ll be back on social media soon. There’s lots happening behind the scenes. Like I said, lots of writing! And I’ll need to be a bit more vocal to find more lovely humans like you to read my words.

Until then, I’m still working on that fruit piece for BIG DUMB MAMMAL. Spoiler alert: there’s a reason there’s not a better scale for fetal development other than fruit. Because it’s HARD to accurately visualize fetal growth!!!

Beyond wallowing in fetal growth metaphors and various fruit, I’ve been scheduling chapters of Under the Foliated Roof so you won’t have a pause in reading when I inevitably have to birth the human I’m gestating!

Take care, and see you back in your inbox soon.

-Allison

👋🏻 Meet your Monkey Girl

Hi, I’m Allison aka Monkey Girl—a published author, PhD scientist, and trusted book editor.

I’m reclaiming my story, one chapter, one essay, one monkey at a time. Read my romcom Love Letter to Wanderlust, and keep your eyes peeled for my 👣 Path to Published series.

My latest and loudest series to date is BIG. DUMB. MAMMAL. where I’m sharing all the details of pregnancy, from the perspective of a biologist living this process in real time.

When I’m not typing away at my computer, I’m usually on a plane with my husband and toddler, or defending my three very patient cats from said toddler.

Thanks for being here, truly. If you have thoughts, questions, anything, send me a message. I read every word and I’d love to hear from you.

Photography by the brilliant c.m.elle studios.

I came across the Pentagon Pizza Theory recently. In typical me fashion, I managed to take this rabbit hole of a nugget and throw myself down it as opposed to eh… paying attention to the actual news.

So come on along with me on this train of thought: the Pentagon Pizza Theory is the same principle as how behaviorists prevent monkey wars.

A quick reminder for those who are new here… I’ve spent over a decade studying monkeys and apes, specifically their social bonds. Monkey marriage, if you would.

Part of that monkey training involved lots of data analysis. So while I’m a monkey girl, and an author, I’m also a data nerd.

When I came across the Pentagon Pizza Theory—a theory that suggests you can predict an upcoming international crisis or geopolitical event based upon surges in late night pizza deliveries to the Pentagon, implying employees working late—I was immediately tickled and very much obsessed.

The idea that by simply monitoring late night pizza joint deliveries, you can predict US military invasions is just wild. The Pentagon guards intelligence that the public does not have access to. Military activity like invading a country is not something you want just anyone to know about. And I’m certain that people working at the Pentagon don’t think they’re giving away any information by ordering pizza.

Pentagon Pizza giving away military secrets is exactly the reason why I love studying behavior.

Read more

How is it possible to miss someone who’s right in front of you?

I’m watching my toddler grow up right before my eyes and I miss him. I’m savoring every moment, enjoying this time, soaking it all in, a…

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Today’s post is part apology, part explanation, part rumination.

Something that I thought was a quirk during Fletcher’s pregnancy turns out to be a pattern confirmed by this pregnancy.

I am awful at an…

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I’m an animal person.

Always have been.

I credit books, zoos, public library programs, and a plethora of animal-themed children’s TV shows in the 90s for my affinity to animals.

Some of my favorite inte…

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Content warning: pregnancy, death, DVT, pulmonary embolism, hospitals

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🐒 ✈️ Love Letter to Wanderlust is a STEMinist romcom by Allison Lau in which an American primatologist and a Hong Kong-ese pilot reconnect by chance and set off on a world-wide adventure, navigating remote jungles, academia, and familial expectations, all while battling an all-consuming love that threatens to crash land both their lives.

🐒✈️ LLTW Table of Contents

Chapter Fifty-Two

Tin Yan

One Year Later

Read more

🐒 ✈️ Love Letter to Wanderlust is a STEMinist romcom by Allison Lau in which an American primatologist and a Hong Kong-ese pilot reconnect by chance and set off on a world-wide adventure, navigating remote jungles, academia, and familial expectations, all while battling an all-consuming love that threatens to crash land both their lives.

🐒✈️ LLTW Table of Contents

Chapter Fifty-One

Liv

Three Months Later

The hammock’s straps creaked around the tree trunks. Pancaked between the warm chest below her and the humid blanket of the lush jungle, Liv’s tired limbs puddled into a sleepy, sated dream. She’d never been quite so at peace, quite so whole.

“Which group are you following tomorrow morning?” Tin Yan’s sleepy murmur asked into her hair. Very much real. Very much not a dream.

She craned her neck to look at his beautiful face, a short beard growing in from not shaving during the field season. “Group four.” She pressed four kisses to his lips.

With the last kiss, his hand held her face to his and her lips parted. Warm and dreamy, his mouth met hers in slow, sensual kisses. Like they had all the time in the world. And in reality, they did. His tongue tangled with hers, and her blood heated. She shifted to get closer to him, and her movement sent the hammock swinging.

They laughed against each other’s mouths, bodies pressed together despite the heat around them. They hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other. No matter how tired their full days in the forest made them, every afternoon they ended up like this, bodies and souls as close as could be.

Tin Yan swept her up in another kiss, filling her senses with nothing but him.

“You two better not be doing it in that hammock,” Natalia called.

Read more

🐒 ✈️ Love Letter to Wanderlust is a STEMinist romcom by Allison Lau in which an American primatologist and a Hong Kong-ese pilot reconnect by chance and set off on a world-wide adventure, navigating remote jungles, academia, and familial expectations, all while battling an all-consuming love that threatens to crash land both their lives.

🐒✈️ LLTW Table of Contents

Chapter Fifty

Liv

His warm hand surrounding hers grounded her to the space and time, oriented the rest of her thoughts and her body and her breath to him. The sun whose orbit she’d fallen into. Every word that had fallen from his mouth, every sincere, heartfelt look that crossed his face, all of it had poured from him like water over a cliff, so natural and purposeful and right.

Her stupid heart, the stupid thing in her chest that had been through so much in the last few months, raced.

She could hear each beat. Hear the hum of electricity in the walls. Hear the slow whooshes of his breath. But that touch… it was everything.

“I’ve been in Hong Kong for two weeks,” she whispered.

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🐒 ✈️ Love Letter to Wanderlust is a STEMinist romcom by Allison Lau in which an American primatologist and a Hong Kong-ese pilot reconnect by chance and set off on a world-wide adventure, navigating remote jungles, academia, and familial expectations, all while battling an all-consuming love that threatens to crash land both their lives.

🐒✈️ LLTW Table of Contents

Chapter Forty-Nine

Tin Yan

The moment he opened the door, he nearly threw himself at her. The surprise in his chest, fading to wonder, nearly did him in. He’d spent so much time thinking of her that seeing her in the flesh nearly made him short-circuit.

But the uncertainty on her face made him pause, root his feet to the floor, and resist the urge to wrap her in his arms.

“Livvie.” He said her name on an exhale.

“Hi,” she said, and winced. “I…” She trailed off, her eyes roaming over him while his did the same. She hadn’t changed at all. Not that he’d expected her to. But seeing her, the frayed ends of her braid, the part of her lips, the slight worry in her eyes, even now… he’d missed every bit of her.

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I’ve disliked my uterus since I first learned about menstruation.

My uterus and entire female reproductive system was a big mystery to me as a kid, and the American Girl The Care and Keeping of You bo…

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🐒 ✈️ Love Letter to Wanderlust is a STEMinist romcom by Allison Lau in which an American primatologist and a Hong Kong-ese pilot reconnect by chance and set off on a world-wide adventure, navigating remote jungles, academia, and familial expectations, all while battling an all-consuming love that threatens to crash land both their lives.

🐒✈️ LLTW Table of Contents

Chapter Forty-Eight

Tin Yan

The night air breezed through the kitchen window of Tin Yan’s apartment, cooling the space while he finished his dishes. He paused for a second, skimming his eyes over the night landscape of Tai Po. Not far beyond, the lights dropped away and the inky darkness of the water spread.

He hadn’t known exactly why this part of New Territories had felt so right when he chose it, but in the few weeks he’d lived there, he’d already gotten used to the peaceful, less dense city on this side of Hong Kong. He dried his hands and grabbed his tea from the counter, moving out into the living space.

It wasn’t much. Just a small kitchen, room for a couch and a table, a wall to separate his bed from the rest of the apartment, and the bathroom. Four hundred square feet only, but each bit of it was his. He’d gotten lucky, finding a modern apartment with so much character in a place he really liked. His Realtor cousin Tim had been super jazzed about it when Tin Yan gave him the tour over video call.

He settled onto the couch, taking a sip of tea and glancing outside. The windowed wall faced the same way as the kitchen, showcasing the peninsula and island offshore during the day, and a wonderful lack of lights—a rarity in Hong Kong—at night.

He picked up his phone, checking it out of a habit that had started months ago and stayed despite Liv’s silence in the past few months. A text from Rosie glowed on the screen.

You home?

He thumbed back. Ya.

He was always home these days. Beyond work, he’d spent most of his time in or near his apartment. He visited his mom, Kiera, and Rosie a few times a week. Rosie had made herself right at home in his old room, completing the “bachelorette pad”. He visited to get a taste of normalcy and loved how his mom and sisters were thriving.

But otherwise, he hadn’t gone far. He hadn’t taken any trips for fun. Hadn’t wanted to. He hadn’t even gone out for drinks with Kiera, Rosie, and Edith lately.

With a sigh, he ran a hand through his hair. He knew what he was waiting for. Consciously or subconsciously, it didn’t matter.

He kept waiting for her.

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mammal (noun): warm-blooded higher vertebrates that give birth to live young, nourish their young with milk secreted by mammary glands, and have the skin usually more or less covered with hair

I’m a m…

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Hi. It’s me. I’m pregnant (again), and apparently the only way I know how to process anything is to write about it in public, so here we are.

BIG DUMB MAMMAL. is a new series inside Monkey Girl. Not a…

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🐒 ✈️ Love Letter to Wanderlust is a STEMinist romcom by Allison Lau in which an American primatologist and a Hong Kong-ese pilot reconnect by chance and set off on a world-wide adventure, navigating remote jungles, academia, and familial expectations, all while battling an all-consuming love that threatens to crash land both their lives.

🐒✈️ LLTW Table of Contents

Chapter Forty-Seven

Liv

She arrived first. Her stomach in knots, Liv paced around the city park, passing sport courts, sculptures, and an array of leafy trees. She vaguely remembered it from her whirlwind tour of Hong Kong months ago. She found a park bench in the shade, watching a magpie hop around on a branch overhead.

Anything to distract her.

Because before she knew it, she picked out a familiar head down the pathway and the point of turning back had passed.

Chin-length hair swung as the familiar face spotted her and raised a hand in greeting.

Liv waved weakly in return, gripping the edge of the bench to keep herself steady. Her heart pounded, realizing just what she’d done by sending that text. The box she’d reopened.

She tried to maintain her smile, but the familiar face drew close, and Liv had no choice but to stand, to meet the knowing gaze that came at her.

Rosie opened her arms and gave Liv a brief hug.

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Throughout my time working in traditional research academia, I have had the pleasure of mentoring over 60 undergraduate students and close to a dozen graduate students. Each mentee shaped me and my s…

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