A Storyteller, Unbecoming

On showing, telling, and finding one’s way as a literary writer of color.

Source: Longreads
Published: Mar 8, 2018
Length: 14 minutes (3,636 words)

Doomed in Nashville

A personal essay in which, while on a whirlwind book tour, Monica Drake fights to resist the pull of an emotional — and physical — abyss.

Source: Longreads
Published: Mar 5, 2018
Length: 19 minutes (4,778 words)

The Stuff That Came Between Mom and Me: A Story About Hoarding

In this unsettling personal essay, Susan Fekete describes the minute ways in which her mother’s compulsions add up to an alarmingly dysfunctional whole. What emerges is a startling portrait of a woman who is wildly generous with her possessions — but also totally overcome by them.

Source: Longreads
Published: Mar 7, 2018
Length: 14 minutes (3,541 words)

How to Write a Memoir While Grieving

A personal essay in which Nicole Chung contemplates loss, adoption, and working on a book her late father won’t get to see.

Source: Longreads
Published: Mar 1, 2018
Length: 11 minutes (2,845 words)

My Abuser’s Gender Made Me Doubt My Experience

In this personal essay, for years after an assault, Caroline Catlin questions the safety of queerness.

Source: Longreads
Published: Feb 26, 2018
Length: 10 minutes (2,695 words)

Grief is a Jumble Word

A personal essay in which Ken Otterbourg contemplates love and loss, and what we remember when we try to forget.

Source: Longreads
Published: Feb 23, 2018
Length: 10 minutes (2,710 words)

The Hotel of Multiple Realities

In this personal essay, while recovering from an aneurysm, Emily Carter Roiphe discovers the hospital houses a series of alternate realms.

Source: Longreads
Published: Feb 21, 2018
Length: 13 minutes (3,466 words)

A Tale of Two Vegases

A personal essay in which Gayle Brandeis recalls two trips to Las Vegas with her mother — the second one while her mother is delusional.

Source: Longreads
Published: Feb 20, 2018
Length: 12 minutes (3,027 words)

Black Disabled Wonder Women Need Love, Too

A personal essay in which Britney Wilson considers the lessons she learned while taking a risk on romance.

Source: Longreads
Published: Feb 16, 2018
Length: 25 minutes (6,304 words)

The Great Stink

It’s time for men to stop worrying about who they are, and start thinking about what they do.

Source: Longreads
Published: Feb 14, 2018
Length: 17 minutes (4,270 words)