A personal essay in which author Michelle Tea writes about discovering, through stand-up, the potential for humor to heal trauma and bond people.
Personal Essay
Posted inEditor's Pick
But What Will Your Parents Think?
In this personal essay, This Will Be My Undoing author Morgan Jerkins tackles the time-worn question of how far is too far to go in revealing yourself in first-person writing.
Posted inEditor's Pick
O, Small-bany!
Writer Elisa Albert’s notes from a bygone spring in her adopted hometown.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Of Breakdowns and Breakthroughs
In this personal essay, after suicides and heartbreak ravage her family, Jenny Aurthur finds she has no choice but be transformed.
Posted inEditor's Pick
No Journalist Should Have to Know How to Survive in Prison
After a recent trip to Myanmar, Alice Driver considers the ever-present dangers for journalists there and in Mexico, where she lives.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Forever Nomad
A personal essay. For an immigrant, losing a home is a given, but Margarita Gokun Silver wonders if never finding one again is also part of the journey.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Chasing Drinks with Lies, and Lies with Drinks
In this personal essay, Katie MacBride recalls her last days abusing alcohol before getting sober.
Posted inQuotes
The Stories We Don’t Tell
How many not-quite-parents are bearing the pain of miscarriage silently and alone?
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Apology Tour
A personal essay in which writer Jonny Auping tracks down people he’s wronged in the past to say he’s sorry.
Posted inEditor's Pick
To Hug, Or Not to Hug
In this personal essay, Emily Meg Weinstein considers the complexities of meeting and greeting in this #MeToo moment.