Long Reads

Running Away From Home At 15 Helped Me Find A Home Within Myself

I thought healing would mean lying. I thought allowing myself to be helped would be falsifying documents that stated I was all right or had a happy life when I did not. I thought all I had going for me was my refusal to lie about my life, and I didn't want to give that up.

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"My particular brand of existence means allowing belief and non-belief to coexist peacefully alongside one another, just as Shintoism and Buddhism do in Japan — just as I must with my past."

Voodoo and Televangelism: A Black Woman's Journey To Atheism

I was probably the most religious kid you ever met. I genuinely believed in God, the way that most kids believe in Sunday morning cartoons and rainbow colored fruit rollups.

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Photo by Nicola Fioravanti on Unsplash

My Parents Stole My Identity. I Won’t Let Them Steal My Future. 

I’ve built my life from ashes, and I’ve filled it with intentional kindness and trust. My parents stole yesterday. I won’t let them take tomorrow.

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Photo Credits: Marnie Goodfriend

The First Girl: On The Loss Of Friendship 

There is no support or safety net to break one’s fall when friendships fade or split apart. There's not an acceptable period of isolation.

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Photo by Ryan Moreno on Unsplash

Voice Lessons: Why I Speak Without Raising My Hand

Our noises are more than just vibrations; our soundings help constitute our presence in the world. Listen to me: what I have to say right now matters.

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And with that, I became a Taxi Dancer. Ten cents a dance, that's what they pay me.

Taxi Dancer: Giving Myself Away, One Song At A Time

I did it for the money, sure, but also out of a strange mixture of boredom, perversion, and self-abnegation. Giving myself away, one song at a time.

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Photo by Steve Halama on Unsplash

This Is What It’s Like To Visit Your Boyfriend In Federal Prison

My life plan hadn’t included me — as a 19-year-old, third-year college student — visiting the love of my life in federal prison.  Read...
I didn’t have one of those coming out moments that involves hugs and tears and “I love you no matter what,” though that did come in time.

Coming Out In A Sea Of Homophobes

I didn’t have one of those coming out moments that involves hugs and tears and “I love you no matter what,” though that did come in time.

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