Shaheen Pasha explores how the trauma of a loved one’s incarceration unravels her carefully planned-out existence, and sets her on a new, unexpected path to find meaning in the meaningless.
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At Mrs. Balbir’s
Jillian Dunham traveled thousands of miles from home to get away from her grief. It found her anyway, in a stranger’s Bangkok apartment.
“Parrot Isn’t Hungry”: On Family, Food, Fasting, and Ramadan
Living many states away from her parents and much of her extended family during the holy month of Ramadan, writer Gulnaz Saiyed remembers the food and flavors of home.
The Life-Changing Magic of Getting In Line at 5AM
Japan is committed to waiting: its language includes the phrase gyouretsu no dekiru mise: “restaurants that have very long lines.”
Searching for Caravaggio in the Kitchen
Is food nourishment, or art, or both?
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Brian M. Rosenthal, Katelyn Burns, Chris Ip, Wendy S. Walters, and Nathaniel Penn.
Eating Alone
We’re eating alone more often than in any previous generation. But why should a meal on our own be uninspired? Why shouldn’t the French saying “life is too short to drink bad wine” still apply?
Albatross People
Navigating distance and time in the age of uncertainty.
Hazardous Cravings
While working at a rural New Jersey Dairy Queen, an overweight teen had to face his troubled relationship with food and his body while keeping his bulimia quiet, and learn to navigate America’s fat-shaming, food-loving culture.
American Pie
On a decade-old family ritual, in which a Chinese woman and her visiting Chinese-American granddaughter make a pilgrimage to Pizza Hut to share a Hawaiian pizza.

