E.J. Levy recalls her mother and her cooking, a “weapon” her mother used throughout her marriage. Levy’s memories also reveal her struggle with her identity. Featured in the 2005 edition of The Best American Essays, edited by Susan Orlean.
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Longreads Best of 2015: Here Are All of Our No. 1 Story Picks from This Year
All through December, we’ll be featuring Longreads’ Best of 2015. To get you ready, here’s a list of every story that was chosen as No. 1 in our weekly Top 5 email.
‘Cooking Was My Mother’s Principal Weapon’
From E.J. Levy’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”—an essay I consider one of my favorites.
Longreads Best of 2015: Here Are All of Our No. 1 Story Picks from This Year
All through December, we’ll be featuring Longreads’ Best of 2015. To get you ready, here’s a list of every story that was chosen as No. 1 in our weekly Top 5 email.
Girl Power
Susan Orlean on the television show “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch,” and its then 22 year old star, Melissa Joan Hart: I grew up in the sixties and seventies, under the spell of the old television show “Bewitched.” I saw every episode, and I loved them all. But lately I have been watching the television show […]
When the Messiah Came to America, She Was a Woman
On the rise and fall of American utopia.
When the Messiah Came to America, She Was a Woman
On the rise and fall of American utopia.
Portrait of a Ten-year-old Girl
An intimate look at the life of Caitlyn Pinto, a ten-year-old girl living in Canada who loves Justin Bieber and has thoughtful ideas about racism and bullying: “Caitlyn has an iPod touch, which allows her to surf the Internet, though she uses it mostly for iMessage, and FaceTime, a kind of one-on-one video chat. She […]
Reading List: What's In A Dream? Writers Explore New York
Emily Perper is a freelance editor and reporter, currently completing a service year in Baltimore with the Episcopal Service Corps. As my service year winds down and I begin to look for jobs, I’m simultaneously drawn to and repulsed by the New York mythos. Here are four pieces that explore the romance, the real estate, […]
The American Male at Age Ten
Susan Orlean’s classic profile of a ten-year-old boy named Colin Duffy: “If Colin Duffy and I were to get married, we would have matching superhero notebooks. We would ‘ wear shorts, big sneakers, and long, baggy T-shirts depicting famous athletes every single day, even in the winter. We would sleep in our clothes. We would […]

