In Jo’s Image

Jeanna Kadlec considers the impact of Little Women’s matriarchy — and its heroine — on the formation of her own queer identity.

Source: Longreads
Published: Dec 19, 2019
Length: 8 minutes (2,136 words)

A Woman’s Work: Becoming a Home of One’s Own

In the final installment of her six-part illustrated series, “A Woman’s Work,” Carolita Johnson considers what it takes to recover from grief, build strength for the future, and become one’s own center of gravity again.

Source: Longreads
Published: Dec 18, 2019
Length: 24 minutes (6,000 words)

From Kyiv to Kentucky

California native Katya Cengel contemplates whether living in Ukraine prepared her for life in the South.

Source: Longreads
Published: Dec 16, 2019
Length: 10 minutes (2,513 words)

We Are All We Have

While caring for her mother post-surgery and her grandmother during her final days, Megan Stielstra wonders who’s really taking care of who.

Source: Longreads
Published: Dec 13, 2019
Length: 22 minutes (5,562 words)

Self-Portrait as a Human Interest Story

Emi Nietfeld considers an assortment of adversities that both hurt and buoyed her in her youth, and interrogates how the narrative of resilience minimizes suffering.

Source: Longreads
Published: Dec 11, 2019
Length: 11 minutes (2,834 words)

Where Are the Gay Ladies of Cambodia?

Honeymooning in Cambodia, Lindsey Danis and her wife seek refuge in queer spaces, but struggle to find the acceptance granted to male travelers.

Source: Longreads
Published: Dec 9, 2019
Length: 16 minutes (4,081 words)

What Shattered My Mother’s Mind

Winston Ross recalls the heartbreaking ordeal his family endured after his mother’s routine surgery led to post-operative delirium.

Source: Longreads
Published: Dec 6, 2019
Length: 21 minutes (5,290 words)

Why I Wanted to Finish My Father’s Life’s Work

In this personal essay, Karen Brown recalls the pain and joy of fulfilling a deathbed promise.

Source: Longreads
Published: Dec 4, 2019
Length: 8 minutes (2,139 words)

My Backcountry Prescription Experiment

Mathina Calliope goes off her antidepressant and into the woods.

Source: Longreads
Published: Dec 2, 2019
Length: 12 minutes (3,134 words)

Why Mr. Bauer Didn’t Like Me

As a child, Blaise Allysen Kearsley tried, in vain, to win over a white friend’s father.

Source: Longreads
Published: Nov 29, 2019
Length: 8 minutes (2,056 words)