The Most Popular Personal Essays of 2023

And the future of Open Secrets

Jan 02, 2024

Happy New Year! Here are the 5 most popular Open Secrets personal essays of 2023, according to Substack (see all our essays here):

Physical Health

I Have Never Regretted My Abortion

Marissa G.

December 4, 2023

I sat down at the kitchen table of the house my friend was subletting for the summer, the four of us gathered around over Chinese takeout. I shoved a giant bite of vegetable lo mein down my throat while they exchanged a nervous glance. In the bathroom down the hall, a pregnancy test sat developing on the counter…

Read full story

Grief

Finding Permission to Mourn 22 Years After 9/11

Trisha Kostis

September 11, 2023

Finding Permission to Mourn 22 Years After 9/11

On September 11, 2001, I arrived at a staff meeting, after driving across town listening to “Head Like a Hole” by Nine Inch Nails at full volume. I’d slept through my alarm and barely managed to microwave a leftover Starbucks latte before dashing out the door, missing what I assumed would be a banal celebrity interview on…

Read full story

Relationships

How My Crush on My Gay Best Friend Hindered Our Friendship

Stephanie Weaver

November 27, 2023

How My Crush on My Gay Best Friend Hindered Our Friendship

Ron came home with a bag of cassettes from Tower Records. “I found a cool-looking guy in the store,” he said. “I asked him to tell me what I should buy.” I didn’t give a second’s thought to the guy in the store. I heard “Presents.” Upstairs at Eric’s

Read full story

Work

Beyond the Embargo: Keeping the BTS Book a Secret

Anton Hur

August 14, 2023

Beyond the Embargo: Keeping the BTS Book a Secret

I’ve always complained about embargoes and secrets in the publishing industry. What was up with all these demands to keep book titles secret, book covers secret, or even the fact that such-and-such was working on such-and…

Read full story

Grief

Ashes to Ashes, Trust to Trust

Kelli Dunham

November 13, 2023

I’m not embarrassed by any of my tattoos even though by all rights I should be since they range in character from dubious (a combat boot-clad rabbit wielding a labrys) to nerdy (a diagrammed sentence on my forearm) to downright corny (a turquois…

Read full story

And as editor, I wanted to share some changes coming up this year. We will be posting essays every other week for the next few months. After that, we may go on hiatus until I have more time and financial resources to devote to Open Secrets. I’m so proud of having started this project last April and learning so much from our contributors. If you’d like to help Open Secrets reach more readers, please like (heart button), comment, and share our essays and recommend Open Secrets on Substack.

I also want to encourage anyone interested in starting their own publication to go for it! Yes, there is a lot of work involved, but it’s also a hugely rewarding endeavor that has connected readers around the world.

Rachel Kramer Bussel

The Most Popular Personal Essays of 2023

And the future of Open Secrets

I Have Never Regretted My Abortion

Finding Permission to Mourn 22 Years After 9/11

How My Crush on My Gay Best Friend Hindered Our Friendship

Beyond the Embargo: Keeping the BTS Book a Secret

Ashes to Ashes, Trust to Trust

Discussion about this post