A personal essay in which Santi Elijah Holley, the African American son of a white mother, revisits Hannukahs past with his Jewish forebears.
Essays & Criticism
Posted inEditor's Pick
My Experience at Charlie Rose Went Beyond Sexism
A personal essay in which writer and producer Rebecca Carroll catalogs her experiences with not only sexism, by racism as well, as the only black woman on Charlie Rose’s staff in the late 90s.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Joys and Sorrows of Watching My Own Birth
A personal essay in which Shelby Vittek reflects on the bittersweet experience of watching the video of herself being born — and her now-divorced mom and dad becoming parents — again and again.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Assertiveness Training
A personal essay in which Susan Sheu considers her estrangement from her conservative mom, who tried to teach her to stand up and be heard in a male-dominated world — but not to be too unladylike about it.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Ushering My Father to a (Mostly) Good Death
A personal essay in which Karen Brown recalls conspiring with her father in his final weeks to find some humor in the pain.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Why My Family Takes a Thanksgiving Vow of Silence
“The silent retreat gives us all time away from the bewilderment we tend to experience around American holidays.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Parenting Class Dropout
A personal essay in which Paulette Kamenecka recalls how, during her high-risk pregnancy, driven by a longing for normalcy, she tried out a class for parents-to-be.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Afterlife of a Memoir
Novelist Aminatta Forna writes about the lingering effects, fourteen years later, of having written a memoir, The Devil That Danced on the Water, about the political hanging of her father in Sierra Leone.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Finally Seeing the Forest for the Trees
A personal essay in which, after a spate of trauma and loss, Maura Kelly retreats to the woods of the Hudson Valley. There, she is converted into “a nature person.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Bootlegging Jane’s Addiction
In this personal essay, Aaron Gilbreath considers the impact a live Jane’s Addiction recording has had on him, and the effect heroin had on the band’s — and his own — creativity.