Archive - Open Secrets Magazine

My Hookup in a Sauna Next to a Straight Man

An excerpt from Jesse James Rose's memoir 'sorry i keep crying during sex'

Jan 13 • Jesse James Rose

I’m an Old Lady Life Prepper

Field notes from spying on old women

Jan 12 • Trevy Thomas

Never Buy a Goldfish

How I acquired an anxious new hobby

Jan 11 • Mary Stachyra Lopez

Paid Personal Essay Call for Submissions on Black Reproductive Health and ICE Violence

Open Secrets is paying $200 for published essays by Black U.S. writers who’ve experienced reproductive health mistreatment, and by writers who’ve been…

Jan 9 • Open Secrets Magazine

Object-ives #18: On First Buying A Copy of '84, Charing Cross Road' as a New Bookseller

In the autumn of 2017, at 27, I was given a bookshop for my birthday. Sort of

Jan 9 • Meaghan Steeves (she/her)

2026 Open Secrets Live Personal Storytelling Summit Details

Join over 30 memoir authors, plus book, magazine, and newspaper essay editors for a day of panels on writing and publishing personal essays

Jan 8 • Open Secrets Magazine

On forgetting myself in fatherhood

Jan 8 • Bud Hager

January 2026 Open Secrets Book Club Pick: 'The True Happiness Company' by Veena Dinavahi

Join us as we read about how Veena Dinavahi went from troubled teen to married Mormon mom of 3 under the guidance of a cult leader

Jan 8 • Open Secrets Magazine

Truth Hurts: Dance, You Fools!

Our columnist has some advice for anyone afraid to boogie at the club

Jan 7 • John DeVore

Notes on a Spending Fast

My no-clothes, no-exceptions year

Jan 5 • Melissa Meinzer

Object-ives #17: The Secret in the Sugar Bowl

I wasn’t saving for a rainy day; I was building a raft to escape a flood

Jan 2 • Argelia salmon

December 2025

I Make Too Much for Government Assistance, So Community Feeds My Family

After my divorce, my financial life was turned upside down, but the people who love me refused to let me and my daughter go hungry

Dec 30, 2025 • Moriah Richard

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts