Columns
Living with Climate Change in the Forests of Our Burning World
How do I raise a child to love a world that may be dying, to live with compassion in the midst of what could very well be despair?
Learning How to Be Gentle in the Face of Trauma—Others’ and My Own
Bees do not attack—just as trauma survivors do not attack, but rather defend. She will not sting you unless she believes the colony’s life depends on her defense. Because when she stings you, she dies.
Posing for a Nude Portrait Taught Me to Separate Desire From Intimacy
When Jack drew Rose like one of his French girls, he didn’t just sketch her; he saw her. It’s a level of intimacy that doesn’t need desire—but that doesn’t make it any less erotic.
Remembering Matthew Shepard’s Legacy in His Own Backyard
In this small town of Laramie, what you say matters. It gets around. The only way to combat the misinformation is to keep telling the truth.
The Guatemalan Asylum Seeker Who Was Almost Deported—to Mexico
I told him clearly in that interview: “I am here because I’m afraid I will be killed in my country. I cannot return to Guatemala. I will die if I do.” The immigration officer acted like he did not understand.
Watchword: A Writer Should Keep the Future in Mind
No one else can judge your practice. You must believe in the work that is in front of you, taking shape before your eyes.
Friendship Has Always Been Hard for Me—I Hope I Can Make It Easier for My Kids
Unwritten social rules might as well not exist for me. The only reason I can read them at all is because I’ve forced myself to learn them.
Why These Seals Left New York—and Why They Came Back
New York is like their Miami resort.
How Did I Get to Thirty-Five Without Really Understanding My Reproductive System?
I wanted to know more about my fertility because I thought it might help me prepare for a someday I wasn’t willing to give up on.
The Utopian Colony Around Tennessee’s Oldest Library
The New York Times, Harper’s Weekly and The Spectator sent stringers to cover the experiment. The writer from Harper’s was so impressed, he speculated “that the coming year would witness a grand exodus of the middle classes of England.”