“A friend had handed down a beautiful book of Daniil Kharms poems for children… One was a song about a man who went into the forest with a club and a bag, and never returned.”
childhood
Posted inNonfiction, Story
Born Again
“Rebirth therapy” was meant to help a troubled girl start over, but it ended her life instead.
Posted inHighlight, History, Nonfiction, Quotes
“99 Luftballons” and the Grim Fairy Tales of ’80s West Germany
On storytelling in the shadow of Chernobyl, U.S. military planes, and not-so-distant German history.
Posted inQuotes, Unapologetic Women
Chasing Down a Child Genius in Montana
Promethea’s education was the most important thing in her mother’s life. Then a mysterious benefactor made it his business as well.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
The Boy With the Coin-Filled Cellophane Cigarette Wrapper, and Me
Meeting an apparently less fortunate child in her daughter’s kindergarten class transports Amber Leventry back to her own painful youth.
Posted inArts & Culture, Quotes
The Flavor of Childhood: Sweet Medicine
One person searches for the anonymous fruit flavor of the pediatric amoxicillin that so many of us, somehow, came to love.
Posted inFiction, Quotes
‘Because pretending was sometimes the only way to get through the day.’
A teacher helping fidgety students pass a rainy recess with a familiar game — don’t touch the floor, it’s lava! — finds that the ability to pretend takes on an unexpected gravity.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
When Alzheimer’s Disease Relieves Us of the Pain in Our Past
For Maria Browning’s mother, Alzheimer’s Disease has dimmed old torments.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Quotes
This Is God’s Property
Kelsey Munger shares the story of a childhood spent being vigilant against the demons, witches, and werewolves her parents believed were stalking their family.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Oil Cross: On Being Raised to Wage Spiritual Warfare
“They were fallen angels, Satan’s henchmen, and they were everywhere.”