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About
The Exhausting Mathematics of Hunger While Receiving SNAP
How ill health and being poor impact my eating
16 hrs ago
•
Lara McKusky
21
10
The Powerful Way Celebrity Gravesites Help Me Cope with My Grief
How my grave interest helped me process my grief over my father’s death
Nov 8
•
Bethany Bruno
16
5
Object-ives #10: The Shirt That Slayed Demons
I collect the outgrown versions of my daughter
Nov 7
•
Colleen Wright
14
2
I Cut Off My Mother. Now I’m Becoming Her
I stopped contacting my mother to avoid repeating her problematic behavior with my daughter
Nov 6
•
Shanetta McDonald
58
10
Truth Hurts: The Surprise Milestone I Reached When I Turned 50
Our columnist, John DeVore, on taking care of yourself after you get older
Nov 5
•
John DeVore
36
14
Relationships
View all
Why My Friend’s Surprise Marriage Raised So Many Red Flags
And how I tried to help her escape
Oct 30
•
Sumitra Mattai
48
21
How to Shatter a Marriage
A single moment revealed our relationship was already broken
Oct 27
•
Jazmine Becerra Green
71
31
Giving Up the Ghost
Athena Dixon on letting go of what haunts you
Oct 15
•
Athena Dixon
23
5
In the Patriarchy, No One Can Hear You Scream
My ex claimed he was freeing me from oppression, but it took years for me to begin my financial escape
Sep 10
•
Shawna Ayoub
35
13
An Extremely Close Encounter with a Gay Catholic Celibate
Was he trying to rescue me from sex while I was trying to rescue him from the church?
Aug 18
•
Brenden O'Donnell
42
13
Will My Sex Life Be Lost When I No Longer Have a Uterus?
I’m a lesbian erotic writer having a hysterectomy and I’m uncertain how this necessary medical procedure will affect my sexual desire and intimacy
Jun 16
•
Anna Sansom
34
17
Substack
Editor Rachel Kramer Bussel's Substack
Social Media
Instagram
Threads
Bluesky
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Recommendations
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The Art of Noticing
Rob Walker
After Dinner Conversation® - Philosophy | Ethics Short Story
After Dinner Conversation
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
The Shit About Writing Team
Books + Bits
Pandora Sykes
The Quiet Life with Susan Cain
Susan Cain
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Parenting and Family
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The Powerful Way Celebrity Gravesites Help Me Cope with My Grief
How my grave interest helped me process my grief over my father’s death
Nov 8
•
Bethany Bruno
16
5
Object-ives #10: The Shirt That Slayed Demons
I collect the outgrown versions of my daughter
Nov 7
•
Colleen Wright
14
2
After Her Brain Surgery, I Was Terrified My Mom Would Never Be My Mom Again
Attending the US Open with her showed me she’s still the same woman I love
Oct 14
•
Akemi Ueda
20
3
Wanted: An All-American Family
I thought I had found the picture-perfect family that I so desperately craved but never had
Sep 22
•
Parker Jin
20
6
My Father Was Never a Dad
My father doesn’t deserve to hear the kindness in the word dad because he never acted like one
Jun 9
•
Salma
23
10
Motherhood Is a Surprise Performance. This Was My Audition.
No script. No rehearsal. Plenty of reviews.
May 9
•
Danusia Malina-Derben
44
45
Is Water Quality So Bad That I Shouldn’t Let My Kids Play in Our Local Creeks?
After testing local creek water, I’m rethinking whether it’s safe to allow my children the freedom I had to explore nature
May 8
•
Cate Stern
12
I Botched Mother’s Day Again
A yearly tradition of mental torture, guilt, and grief for the parentified daughter
May 5
•
Elizabeth Ann Devine
17
3
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Identity
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What’s Queer?
Two queer Korean adoptees walk into a Korean adoptee event and one says to the other…
Nov 3
•
Talon
24
4
There’s a Vegan at Your Dinner Table (P.S. It’s Me)
Why I dropped the conversion act—and started inviting people in
Oct 29
•
Gia Mora
19
18
I’m Childfree, But Not by Choice
How my infertility journey led me down a surprising new path
Aug 28
•
Nicole Giordano
41
18
As An Air Force Cadet, I Did Something Taboo
The sign at the Air Force Academy said not to feed us, but I couldn’t resist breaking the rules to save my sanity
Jul 4
•
Melonie San Pietro
20
4
My Online Gaming Addiction Started with Playing Scrabble on Facebook
I couldn’t stop playing word games with strangers, craving the dopamine hit winning provided
Apr 11
•
Rose Saltman
14
4
Maybe I Am Lovable
The night I learned that my greatest fear wasn’t true
Feb 10
•
Leah Carey, Relationship Coach
56
19
From Abortion to Acupuncture
How I learned how much pain I can endure
Jan 21
•
Brenda Usher-Carpino, PhD
19
6
How I Learned to Be Vulnerable After Growing Up in a Religious Cult
After being bullied as a child for being different, as a woman in my forties I’ve finally embraced what makes me unique
Jan 6
•
Ariel Anderssen
28
10
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Mental Health
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Billy Blanks, I Love You: Help Me Get the Body of My Dreams
My love affair with Tae Bo workout videos
Sep 29
•
Anna Rollins
25
9
Is ADHD Why I Have Trouble Taking Real Vacations?
I loved being away from my laptop, but not the guilt that accompanied it
Sep 1
•
Rachel Kramer Bussel
24
6
I Navigated the Grief of My Second Trimester Miscarriage by Widely Sharing My Story
An excerpt from Normalize It: Upending the Silence, Stigma, and Shame That Shape Women's Lives
Jul 8
•
Jessica Zucker, PhD
18
8
What If I Let My Intrusive Thoughts Win?
Life with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder
Jun 30
•
Anastasia Jill
29
3
Confronting a Second Grade Bully at Age Forty
How naming my relentless inner critic put me on a path toward healing
May 30
•
Sarah Gormley
27
4
How I Joined a Cult Without Knowing It
An excerpt from memoir 'The True Happiness Company' by Veena Dinavahi
May 20
•
Veena Dinavahi
32
3
911: What Led to My Bipolar Diagnosis
An excerpt from Michelle Yang's memoir 'Phoenix Girl: How a Fat Asian with Bipolar Found Love'
May 5
•
Michelle Yang
12
2
The ADHD Diaries: It's Amazing I've Ever Accomplished Anything Because I'm Always Distracted
Even on ADHD medication, sitting down to focus and write feels impossible
Feb 15
•
Rachel Kramer Bussel
31
13
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Work
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The Reality of Being a Flight Attendant
It’s not always so glam working in the skies
Sep 6
•
Megan Marolf
63
18
From Dropout to Journalist…In Prison
How I found my voice as a storyteller while incarcerated and now help others become prison journalists
Sep 4
•
Open Secrets Magazine
25
6
How Firefighting Saved My Life
One of the most dangerous jobs became a refuge from my grief
Sep 3
•
River Selby (they/them)
26
3
I Was a Bigoted Speech Therapist
As my views on gender evolved, so did how I taught kids about pronouns
Sep 2
•
Judith Lam Tang
19
8
I'm a Thriller Author Who Figured Out the Secret to Actually Selling Books
And it’s not ideal—because it’s all about the things you can’t control
Jun 24
•
Rob Hart
60
15
I’m A Professional Tarot Reader Who Thinks “Twin Flames” Need to Be Snuffed Out
Why fiery catch-phrases don’t fix relationships
May 23
•
Cyn Grace, The Grey Strega
18
5
The Ties that Bind: Rape as a Job Hazard
In the aftermath of a horrible attack, I couldn’t change my whole life, but I could change a small part of it
Apr 21
•
Jodi Sh. Doff
33
29
Writing Queer Romance as an Exploration of My Own Queerness
How I fell in love with my queer self through my queer fictional characters
Jan 13
•
Karmen Lee
22
6
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