A woman at Burning Man

Burning Man is known for curating outrageous art from around the globe and linking together the lives of inspired creatives. It’s also known to be a little... well, wild. As a counterculture festival packed with tens of thousands of people, who’s surprised?

2020 June, Our Weekends, Our Families, Our MindsKyle BowerJune 21, 2020Kyle Bower, Interviews, featuresComment

Visiting the mother country

“Where are you from?” It’s a common enough question from curious strangers making idle chit chat. However, for an Asian-American, it’s a rather loaded one.

June 2020, Our Families, Our WeekendsJeanie DizonJune 7, 2020Jeanie Dizon, features, essaysComment

Porch-sittin’ in place

Two months ago, when the pandemic clipped our wings and we began sheltering-in-place, home was no longer just a place to sleep, eat, and sofa surf. It was now also wrapped up in the stress of work, school…

2020 June, Our Weekends, Our FamiliesAngela HowerterMay 31, 2020Angela Howerter Comment

How much does your upbringing influence you later in life?

My sister and I were raised to be someone's wife and mother. It was what was expected of us. An iota of attitude to the contrary was met with disdainful gaslighting, and we'd be reminded that this was our destiny.

2020 May, Our FamiliesHarriet WilliamsMay 10, 2020Harriet Williams, essays, OpinionsComment

Even if you don't think so, you have it good.

My friend and I talked the other day about how being in diaspora has mentally prepared us for this epidemic — being far away from our family and friends with only social media and technology to foster those relationships is already normal.

2020 April, Our Families, Our MindsHarriet WilliamsApril 19, 2020Opinions, Harriet Williams Comments

Social distancing shouldn't mean social isolation

Like many of you, I have read so many headlines, posts, and memes using the terms interchangeably. This is a big problem. Social distancing is a popular term we have adopted to remind ourselves to leave physical space (6 feet is the recommendation) between each other in an attempt to limit viral spread…

2020 April, Our Families, Our MindsKyle BowerApril 1, 2020Kyle Bower, OpinionsComment

The southern funeral experience

In my hometown, there happen to be two funeral homes. The name of the town doesn’t matter because it’s the same everywhere. We all find common ground in the ultimate unifier: funerals. Or more precisely, funeral homes.

2020 March, Our Minds, Our FamiliesJena DunhamMarch 22, 2020Jena Dunham, essays, featuresComment

Woman to Woman: We're turning into our dead mothers

These two editors are turning into their mothers — and they’re loving every minute of it.

2020 March, Our FamiliesConversationalMarch 22, 2020Conversational contributors, Erin Ellison, Katy Wise Greer, essays, ColumnsComment

How do you talk about death with your loved ones?

Have you ever lost someone close to you? Me too. My life has been touched by all types of dying. And, you know what? Nothing in life prepares you for death. Interesting since it’s the only certainty. Is this because we don’t talk about death while we still can?

2020 March, Our Bodies, Our Minds, Our FamiliesKyle BowerMarch 15, 2020Kyle Bower, FeaturesComment

Making peace with my ghosts

When I was a kid, I used to play in a former graveyard. Back then, I thought the forest behind my neighbor’s house, with its mini ditches and adjacent mounds, was the perfect place for hide and seek with my friends.

2020 March, Our Weekends, Our FamiliesJeanie DizonMarch 15, 2020Jeanie Dizon, essaysComment

A boy and his best friend — and mine

I said goodbye to Skyy in 2017, not long after her 14th birthday. Since that day, Jack often talks about her. Jack is on the autism spectrum. Why is that important to know? Because he is so wonderfully blunt every single time that he talks about Skyy.

2020 March, Our FamiliesAngela HowerterMarch 15, 2020Angela Howerter, EssaysComment

Don’t tell lies about me when I die.

I think I’m going to die young. Please hear me: I don’t want to meet an early demise… I just think I probably will. We can blame it on the casual nihilism of certain sects of country folk, or all the rock music I’ve delighted in through the years, or the fact that few people in my family have made it out of their fifties alive.