First Person Singular

Original personal essays.

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On Silence (or, Speak Again)

Elissa Bassist breaks her silence about everything she’s not supposed to talk about and comes out alive.

Sep 20 •

Burning Man Is Even Better with Kids — and with Care

Even torrential rains couldn't ruin Catherine LaSota's experience of introducing her two small children to "the biggest playground in the world."

Sep 13 •

Catherine LaSota

In her 20s, Natalie Serber looked in the wrong places for the woman she hoped to become.

Sep 6 •

The Re-Parent Trap

Boo Trundle recalls her bumpy road and resistance toward "inner child work."

Jul 12 •

My Hysterectomy: A Love Story

"Wasn’t having kids something I was built to want? I didn’t feel permitted to question that. Nothing and no one around me suggested I was."

Jun 24 •

Abortion Abortion Abortion

An excerpt of Natalie Beach's memoir, Adult Drama.

Jun 21 •

Running For My Lives

Justin Quarry tests the truth of his classroom analogy that writing a novel is like running a marathon, and learns a lesson in revision of identity.

Jun 16 •

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