Memoir
Place
idea
The divided self: does where I live make me who I am?
At home in Delhi, I am a more social, interactive person. A quiet balcony in Frankfurt gave me space to be by myself
by Anandi Mishra
Identity
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I rebuilt my self-esteem by changing the story of who I am
I once clung to a dubious family legend to help me cope with a difficult childhood. I’ve since found a better story to tell
by Patricia Olsen
Human rights and justice
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The day the Taliban banned women like me from working
With my daughters’ education cancelled, I thought the regime had done its worst. Then a new message came from my office
by Nargis
Memoir
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What I learned about coping and resilience from asteroid Bennu
After hitting an emotional low, I found myself identifying with an asteroid that looks deceptively solid on the outside
by Elizabeth Landau
Freedom and choice
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Why not driving is my own form of resistance
As romantic petrochemical-fuelled narratives slip into the past, I’ve found my own kind of freedom in a life without a car
by Vicky Grut
Love
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What I’ve learned about relationships as an agony uncle
I am an agony uncle. This is what I’ve learned about men, women and how relationships work in my 10 years of giving advice
by James McConnachie
Memoir
idea
Learn the art of journaling and archive your life
Journaling is an art and a daily practice that allows you to write your life and find your way, one sentence at a time
by Sarah Boon
Memoir
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If madness is like drowning, then writing is my raft ashore
I imagine madness as a kind of watery death, like Ophelia’s. The only way I can get to safety is by writing myself ashore
by Azania Imtiaz Khatri-Patel
Psychoanalysis and the unconscious
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The power of slow therapy, revealed in two pioneering memoirs
Two therapy memoirs by Lucy Freeman, an overlooked mental health pioneer, remind us of the value of slow, convoluted therapy
by Elliot Jurist
Memoir
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In defence of memoirs – a way to grip our story-shaped lives
Even the non-linear memoir creates meaning by shaping the hot mess of life into a narrative arc. What’s wrong with that?
by Helena de Bres
Memoir
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The hug from a stranger that helped me overcome my grief
Levinas explains how connecting with strangers helped me move through my grief to imagine new possibilities for the future
by Will Buckingham
Trauma and PTSD
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A harrowing encounter with the Taliban has stayed with me
Taken captive, I thought the Taliban were going to kill me. The impact of the out-of-body experience I had has been profound
by Sasha Kassam