Personal Essay Archives - Page 28 of 31

The Changeling

by Sari Botton April 18, 2018October 19, 2022

A personal essay in which How to Write an Autobiographical Novel author Alexander Chee considers how answering the question, “What are you?” turned him into a writer.

Nonfiction, Story

The Nighthawks of the Giant

by Aaron Gilbreath April 16, 2018October 19, 2022

Alex R. Jones starts grocery shopping late at night, and finds a new world opens up to him.

Editor's Pick

A Farewell to Fuckboys in the Age of Consent Culture

by Sari Botton April 13, 2018October 19, 2022

In the second installment of her series on dating while woke, Minda Honey explores the long unraveling of a #MeToo moment in the wake of cultural upheaval.

Editor's Pick

A Clarifying Dose of Reality (TV)

by Sari Botton April 12, 2018October 19, 2022

In this personal essay, Valentina Valentini tries out for American Idol and it puts her permanently off fame-seeking.

Editor's Pick

Rules For Departure

by Sari Botton April 12, 2018February 22, 2023

An excerpt from Rachel Z. Arndt’s new essay collection, Beyond Measure. While hitching a ride to a week-long bike tour, Arndt considers the rituals of leaving — and making a clean break.

Editor's Pick

Sober Gay Man Seeks…What, Exactly, He’s No Longer Sure

by Sari Botton April 12, 2018October 19, 2022

A personal essay in which Breaking the Ruhls author, Larry Ruhl, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse now in recovery, finds himself adrift in the age of hookup apps.

Editor's Pick

My Own Bad Story: I Thought Journalism Would Make a Hero Out of Me

by Sari Botton April 5, 2018October 19, 2022

In an essay from his new collection: Bad Stories: What the Hell Just Happened to Our Country, Dear Sugars co-host Steve Almond considers his beginnings in journalism through the lens of the “bad stories” he believes delivered our country to the Trump era. Accompanied by a Longreads Podcast interview with Essays Editor Sari Botton.

Editor's Pick

The Doctor is a Woman

by Sari Botton March 29, 2018June 4, 2025

An excerpt from Sloane Crosley’s new essay collection, Look Alive Out There. Crosley reflects on the experience of freezing her eggs, despite her ambivalence about having children — and as a way of putting off the pressing matter of facing that ambivalence as a woman in her late 30s.