Whole 60 By Laura Lippman Feature The Laura Lippman plan requires that you eat whatever you want whenever you want to eat it, and declare yourself beautiful. We’re not going to lie — it’s really hard.
The Offer of a Two-Night Stand, When Just One Would Do By Suzanne Roberts Feature A guide in Puerto Rico inadvertently leads Suzanne Roberts to stop collecting men as if they were souvenirs.
The Cost of Reading By Ayşegül Savaş Feature Ayşegül Savaş contemplates the way women’s and men’s time is valued and the uneven burden taken by women writers in literary citizenship.
My Unsexual Revolution By Diane Shipley Feature Diane Shipley confronts her history of sexual dysfunction and wonders who decides what ‘normal’ is, anyway.
Live Through This: Courtney Love at 55 By lisawhill Feature Lisa Whittington-Hill on why Courtney Love deserves to be the girl with the most cake.
Holding the Pain By Amye Archer Feature Amye Archer explores her own relationship with the shooting at Sandy Hook as she works with survivors to tell their stories.
The Brazilian Healer and the Patron Saint of Impossible Causes By Leigh Hopkins Feature Leigh Hopkins faces the hidden truth about the world’s most famous spiritual surgeon and the irresistible desire to find ‘the cure.’
The Burdens We Carry By Amy Scheiner Feature Amy Scheiner reflects on her mother’s sudden death and what it means to be a woman in a world that is set up to bury them.
The Sorrowful Mysteries, or Reasons I’m No Longer Catholic By Kathleen McKitty Harris Feature Kathleen McKitty Harris recalls the series of events which led to her departure from the Church.
First Contact By Longreads Feature Sarah Watts details how science fiction shaped her family, her religion, and her own self-image.
An Ode to Natasha Bedingfield’s ‘Unwritten’ By Matt Giles Feature MTV’s “The Hills” was a memorable reality show with an even more memorable theme song.
How to Catch a Cyber Sextortionist By Krista Stevens Highlight “Staying quiet seemed a reasonable choice.”
“Set Up For Failure”: How Iran Captured 10 US Sailors at Farsi Island By Krista Stevens Highlight “What unfolded over the next 12 hours transformed a bumbling operation into a historic fiasco.”
Took You By Surprise: John and Paul’s Lost Reunion By David Gambacorta Feature Five years after the Beatles disbanded, a period fueled by intense acrimony, Lennon and McCartney set aside their differences and got back together one more time. Inside the rollicking atmosphere of that May 1974 recording session.
How I Became ‘Rich’ By Stacy Torres Feature During a rare opportunity to vacation in Hawai’i, Stacy Torres is forced to confront her status as better off than where she came from.
We Still Don’t Know How to Navigate the Cultural Legacy of Eugenics By Audrey Farley Feature From abortion to immigration, a long-debunked scientific movement still casts long, confusing shadows over our most fraught debates.
School for Girls By Jasmin Aviva Sandelson Feature Years after recovering from anorexia, Jasmin Sandelson writes a letter to the high school friend she idolized, and explores how hunger, love, and envy shaped — and ended — their relationship.
Bearing the Weight of My Grandfathers’ Old Clothes By Aram Mrjoian Feature In adopting outerwear worn by the men who came before him, Aram Mrjoian considers his childhood misperceptions of traditional masculinity.
Father’s Little Helper By Scott Korb Feature While under the influence of Valium, Scott Korb reflects on all the fathers he could have been and the father he has become.
Vacation Memories Marred by the Indelible Stain of Racism By Shanna B. Tiayon Feature Shanna B. Tiayon recalls an interaction with a National Parks Service bus driver that cast a pall on a family trip to the Grand Canyon.
Caught Between Borders By Annie Hylton and Malia Politzer Feature Closed borders and closed minds are trapping African LGBTI asylum seekers in hostile countries.
The 19th Century Lesbian Made for 21st Century Consumption By Jeanna Kadlec Feature Jeanna Kadlec considers Anne Lister, the historical figure at the center of HBO’s Gentleman Jack, and the influence of other queer women who preceded her.
Mama Looks for Melanin By harmonyholiday Feature Harmony Holiday remembers her mother’s years of trauma-bonding in search of new love, after the death of her mercurial yet brilliant father.
The Gymnast’s Position By Dvora Meyers Feature Aimee Trepanier was proud to showcase the pose that started her 1993 gymnastics floor routine in a billboard ad off I-15 in Salt Lake City. But when Utahns looked up, that’s not what they saw.
Talk Like an Egyptian By Cary Barbor Feature Cary Barbor traverses language, culture, and class to connect with her new family.
The Year of the Cat By Elisabeth Donnelly Feature Elisabeth Donnelly looks back at a relationship with a wily cat during a lonely time in upstate New York.
Who Do You Belong To? By Emily Lackey Feature When she dipped her heart into someone else’s relationship, Emily Lackey discovered how to define love on her own terms.
At Transformation By Jane Rideau Demuth Feature On the cusp of a life-changing procedure, Jane Rideau Demuth makes peace with the paths that brought her here, and the obstacles she had to wrestle with along the way.
Confessions of a Lapsed Catholic Dancer By Kate Branca Feature Kate Branca considers the body as an instrument of faith.
An Audience of Athletes: The Rise and Fall of Feminist Sports By Britni de la Cretaz Feature Billie Jean King once tried to find a sustainable business model for feminist sports coverage. Then women’s fitness tried to revive the swimsuit model.
