Personal Essays

On the Road

By

After my 6-year-old son died, I was determined to grieve on my own terms. So I sold all my belongings and set off on my bicycle.

The Night My Nightmare Came True

By

I couldn't fathom my recurring childhood nightmare would come true. But I also couldn't imagine I'd emerge from its destruction.

Stilled and Beating Hearts

By

Pregnant with our first child, I felt my baby's kicks grow stronger as our beloved feline's heart slowly failed.

My Roaring, Immature Twenties

By

Untethered after my mother's death, I found myself suspended in adolescence as age 30 approached.

Babe in Prison-land

By

Born to an incarcerated convict and taken from her as an infant, I mourned a mother I can't remember.

Death, Valentines and the YA Section

By

When my best friend died, I was through with Valentine's Day (aka her birthday). I found solace in the library, surrounded by teen angst.

Luisa Street, One Year Later

By

On a thoroughfare marked by personal tragedy, I find myself embracing possibility once again.

My Father, My Daughters

By

My twins were just 18 months old when my father died. Desperate for my girls to know him, I talk about him constantly. But should I?

Wendy Davis’ Filibuster, My Life

By

I was happily married and more than 20-weeks pregnant with a baby I wanted more than anything. So why was I sitting in a Dallas abortion clinic?

No Unfinished Business?

By

I’ll never know what my father would have thought about my life choices — the ones I would have asked his opinion about and the ones I wouldn’t have.

A Case for Old-Fashioned Condolences

By

Facebook is encouraging laziness in face of grief. Let’s turn the corner.

‘Are You Sitting Down?’

By

It doesn’t really matter. There’s no good time or place or way to hear bad news.

Revolution to Reality

By

Despite years of witnessing political violence, I had no personal experience with death — until Mom got sick, and I headed home to help her die.

If My Sister Were Alive…

By

Here’s what we would watch, eat and laugh about. Here’s what I would apologize for, forgive her for, attempt to explain and keep to myself.

Mourning the Father I Never Knew

By

My dad is dead. But when a friend loses a parent, I can’t honestly say that I understand what he’s going through. Here's why.

Fortune Teller

By

My dead mother communicates with me through fortune cookies. Really, she does.

Visiting Dad on Google Street View

By

Before Dad died, Google cameras captured him — healthy and happy — tending his yard. For years after his death, I visited him frequently in cyberspace.

Feet, Pain, Love

By

After my boyfriend succumbed to cystic fibrosis, I found relief in a grueling 500-mile pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago.

On New Year’s, Clawing My Way Back

By

The year my partner drowned, I bought a supermarket lobster — and set it free.

Grief Is Forever (and That’s OK)

By

At a fancy spa, I found myself missing my son and learning to embrace my eternal sadness.

1 … 19 20 21 22