Family
The Pain of Losing Your First Language
What else did I lose to assimilate?
I Turned to TikTok When Motherhood Felt Out of Reach
In the emergency room waiting for a potential diagnosis, I soothe myself with loops of pudgy toddlers tripping into the antics of babyhood over and over again.
Searching for My Parallel Life in Vietnam
What might have happened if we had stayed?
Skateboarding Gave Me a Way to Express My Grief
Yes, this system is imperfect. It took years—and the privilege of professional help—before I’d learn to articulate my grief in words.
Reaching for My Family—And My French Not-Husband
Comforting each other is more natural when we’re physically present, which is what the pandemic made it impossible for my not-husband to be.
I Refuse to Feel Guilt for My Guilty Pleasures
The invisible fence that divides highbrow and lowbrow is largely imposed by money, those we admire, and our own social conditioning.
Facing Crises—and Mosquitoes—at Home in Osaka
If you’re looking at something, you don’t know where it’s going; if you know where it’s going, you don’t know where it is.
After Sitting Shiva in the Pandemic, What Comes Next?
The grief of the pandemic era is ongoing. What happens if everyone is sitting shiva at once?
Traveling With My Parents Taught Me “Growing Up” Is Not “Growing Old”
My parents were old. It was time to take seriously the last years we had left. That is not, of course, how they saw things.
The Mango Missile Crisis
After her arrest, I started to understand. All the racist slights and foolish men my mother had endured. More reasons to be angry than I could count.