Top Stories
New stories you’ll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
Chronic Ache in the Soul of a Single Parent
There is a chronic ache in the soul of a single parent. It lingers, feeling endless. This ache feels so difficult, especially when you look at other families. They seem so… whole. They seem so joyful and complete. There is a husband and a wife and children in a stroller. Thinking about your single state, you realize how awkward you feel, how out of place at various functions and gatherings. They are all happily together and you’re miserably alone. Disappointment with the current life circumstances just settles in to stay, or so it feels. How could these layers of disappointment be broken up anyhow?
By Rowan Finley 4 days ago in Humans
Thirty (one) and Neither Flirty nor Thriving.
I'm thirty-one and orbiting the same few mistakes like they're landmarks. London is already awake before I am (or before I've slept) - sirens somewhere far enough to ignore, buses sighing at stops, people moving with purpose I can't quite borrow. I lie there for a bit, tasting last night at the back of my throat, trying to remember if I meant to drink that much or if it just...happened again.
By Stacey Vellaabout 6 hours ago in Psyche
Parting is such sweet and salty sorrow...
Dear Wife— At first, I hesitated to go forward with this resolution. But after your recent late-night binges scarfing down bags of chicharrónes—those pork rinds you dip in butter and the god-awful crunch they make, I knew I could no longer reach you.
By Lamar Wiggins3 days ago in Fiction
Celebrating Mother's Day When Your Mom Has Passed Away
Losing Your Mom If you have lost your mom, it's difficult enough, but it's even harder when her special day comes around. I know how it feels. I lost my mother. The first year was the worst. I remember how lost I felt. I just couldn't understand why she had to die when so many other people I knew still had their mothers.
By Janis Masyk-Jackson4 days ago in Families
The Irony of Flying While We Bomb the "World's Greatest Terror Regime"
Ah, the irony of flying at this moment in time as the United States is simultaneously bombing Iran - the nation officials have insisted for decades is "The World's Greatest Terror Regime" - while the TSA is on a go-slow, courtesy of a funding squeeze that's left its officers unpaid, quitting in droves, and turning checkpoints into something like slow-moving bread lines.
By Scott Christenson🌴3 days ago in Humor
Foraging Appalachia’s Wild Edibles
It's that time of year again and Appalachia offers a remarkable abundance for anyone willing to learn its seasonal gifts and practice careful gathering. Across ridges, holler's, stream-side's, and meadows, edible plants, berries, roots, and fungi appear through every part of year. Knowledge is key and teaches not only what can be eaten, but also how to gather with respect so that these resources remain available far into future.
By Tim Carmichael2 days ago in Feast
A Visitor's Guide To Victorian England
A Book Review Being interested in all things Victorian, I am constantly looking for books on the Victorian Era. In fact, I should admit that I am obsessed about ‘all things Victorian’. From the clothes worn by men and women, rich or poor, to how they lived, where they lived, what they ate and would (or would not ) drink, what kind of transport there was, who worked where, who went to school (and who didn’t), the list really is endless.
By Ruth Elizabeth Stiffa day ago in BookClub
You Should Stop Trying to Be a Better Person
A year ago, I spent two days in the Colombian mountains drinking ayahuasca as part of a spiritual ceremony. An experience that pulled apart every detail of my being and rearranged me in a new sequence. I wish that life became easier after the feat. It didn’t.
By Annaise Michelle2 days ago in Humans
