“Here it is: Women are the gravity stopping humanity from drifting off aimlessly into the void. We mothers, sisters, daughters, aunts, grandmothers — women — are the backbone of the world.”
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Posted inNonfiction
Molly and the Unicorn
Emily Flake reflects on the shifting nature of magic and power in middle age.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Feature, Nonfiction, Story
How I Got My Shrink Back
An entanglement with her shrink-stalking protege teaches Susan Shapiro something about forgiveness.
Posted inEditor's Pick
My Semester With the Snowflakes
A 52-year-old former Naval officer enrolls as an undergraduate at Yale, alongside a primarily 18- to 22-year-old student body. Contrary to what his contemporaries expect, in the midst of tackling complicated ideas with his classmates, despite their differences, he finds he has great respect for his them — and they have great respect for him.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Feature, Nonfiction, Story
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.
Posted inEditor's Pick
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.
Posted inNonfiction
Learning from Perimenopause and a Kpop Idol
Struggling with fluctuating hormones, Wendy Gan is inspired by the musician Mino to stop muting herself and return to writing.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Feature, Nonfiction, Story, Unapologetic Women
I’m 72. So What?
Catherine Texier pushes back against society’s dated ideas about older women, claiming her place among those who are determined to remain vibrant and relevant in the last decades of their lives.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Darkness on the Edge of Cougartown
On the brink of 50, Sarah Miller makes peace with being 10 years older than her boyfriend, and stops wasting time wishing she were younger.
Posted inNonfiction
Hello, Forgetfulness; Hello, Mother
Peering into the mirror of her mother, Marcia Aldrich wonders whether she too is sentenced to dementia.