Life stories

Hear directly from individuals about their highly personal journeys into meaning and self-understanding

Turning points

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Photo of three people smiling indoors, seated with arms around each other, with decorative items in the background.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

Thicker than blood

When polio left me unable to walk, my parents put me in a disability centre. There, I met Mommy

Sauda Bashir, as told to Kiprop Kimutai

A woman in an art studio examining a small object surrounded by paintings, plants and art supplies.
IDENTITY

The mudlark

After a lifetime of collecting artefacts from strangers’ lives, I’m finally ready to face my own past

by Marie-Louise Plum

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Photo of a person’s toned torso in shadowy light hands on hips wearing a dark top and trousers showcasing abdominal muscles.
MIND-BODY INTERACTIONS

Stronger

When grief and distraction spun my mind out of control, only the strain of my muscles could keep it intact

by Nancy Uddin

Photo of a child in winter clothing standing next to a cat outdoors on a sunny day, with text from a book visible.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

My cousin Anna

As a Korean adoptee, I’d never expected to meet a blood relative. Then a 23andMe email landed in my inbox

by Andrew Lee

A crowd enveloped in pink smoke on a city street, with people wearing hoodies and jackets, and buildings in the background.
CIVIC LIFE

Experiments in resistance

When I tested people’s blood after a protest, I discovered that science itself could be a form of dissent

Alexander Samuel, as told to Christine Ro

Close-up photo of a person’s hand holding a smartphone with a patterned fabric in the foreground, soft brown background.
TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA

My chatbot therapist

Constant access, near-perfect memory, analytic reach – ChatGPT provides things a therapist never could

by Sabela Guravich

Rikers Island sign on a building with a speedboat on the river in the foreground.
FOOD AND DRINK

Loafing around at Rikers

What making – and breaking – bread in jail taught me about work and friendship

by J V

An elderly hand resting being held by younger hands against a dark background.
VALUES AND BELIEFS
16

Let the mystery be

As a hospital chaplain, I watched lives end, faiths fracture and certainties crumble. My job was holding hands in the dark

by Nettie Reynolds

A road below a railway line with a brick wall and red garage doors, graffiti that reads ‘MICK DARNALDS NO PARKING’ behind a table with a can of coke on it and four red chairs.
PLEASURES AND PASTIMES
1

A psalm for lost spaces

You have to sit down somewhere, unhurried and unbothered, to really hear yourself. But where?

by Atar Hadari

A person in a library sitting on the floor reading a red book wearing a white knitted jumper.
COMPASSION AND EMPATHY

The empathy lie

In medicine, empathy came easy. In friendship, it fell apart. An autism diagnosis helped me understand why

by Zoë Read

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Photo of a person’s toned torso in shadowy light hands on hips wearing a dark top and trousers showcasing abdominal muscles.
MIND-BODY INTERACTIONS

Stronger

When grief and distraction spun my mind out of control, only the strain of my muscles could keep it intact

by Nancy Uddin

Photo of a child in winter clothing standing next to a cat outdoors on a sunny day, with text from a book visible.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

My cousin Anna

As a Korean adoptee, I’d never expected to meet a blood relative. Then a 23andMe email landed in my inbox

by Andrew Lee

A crowd enveloped in pink smoke on a city street, with people wearing hoodies and jackets, and buildings in the background.
CIVIC LIFE

Experiments in resistance

When I tested people’s blood after a protest, I discovered that science itself could be a form of dissent

Alexander Samuel, as told to Christine Ro

Photo of a person with long hair and glasses driving a car gesturing to someone outside through an open window.
PERSONALITY

A no-nonsense New York driving instructor’s rules of the road

Directed by Charles Frank

Vintage photo of four people posing indoors with a plant and brick wall background.
THE BODY AND PHYSICAL HEALTH

The family cancer

My brother and mother died of their disease way too young. I’ve been on standby for 45 years

Michele Jacob, as told to Larry Lindner

Painting of a steam train with a red roof chugging along tracks at sunset with mountains and a moose in the background.
PAINTING AND SCULPTURE

An autistic artist searches for the ‘souls’ of machines

Directed by Leonard Kamerling

Collage of vintage photos featuring people in various settings on a wooden surface.
RACE AND ETHNICITY
7

My life as an alien

I know the cost of being misread – first as too Black, then as too white, and never as just myself

by Pamela Swanigan

Drawing of a child leaning on a table beside a fishbowl with a red fish inside. The background is plain and neutral.
IDENTITY

An animator’s bittersweet ode to her ‘third culture’ childhood

Directed by Diana Cam Van Nguyen

A person relaxing on an inflatable ring in a river surrounded by trees on a sunny day.
GENDER
2

Muscle memory

How transitioning upended my own gendered understanding of strength, desirability, and power

by Mieke de Vries

Photo of a bullet hole in glass, showing shattered glass patterns on a black background.
TRAUMA AND PTSD

Aftershock

A random shooting left me with crippling PTSD. Could magnetic stimulation of my brain quiet the terror?

by Madison Lamb

Photo of a person standing on a large rock in the sea during a sunset with scattered smaller rocks around.
HOME

A modern ‘cave man’ on the business of living authentically

Directed by Ivan Olita

A child’s hand resting on an elderly person’s hands.
LIFE STAGES

Learning to inhale

I brought my newborn to visit a hospice patient. It took me far from what I’d thought medicine was

by Lynn Hallarman

Photo of hands drawing a figure in a sketchbook on a splattered art table with ruler and paintbrush.
HOME

Memories of home adopt surreal shapes in a Sudanese expat’s art

Video by Art21

Close-up photo of a person’s hand holding a smartphone with a patterned fabric in the foreground, soft brown background.
TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA

My chatbot therapist

Constant access, near-perfect memory, analytic reach – ChatGPT provides things a therapist never could

by Sabela Guravich

Photo of a bride in profile with a veil smiling, timestamp from 1991 visible on the image.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

What comfort can images give us when someone we love is gone?

Directed by Natalie A Chao

Three worn teddy bears, one beige, one blue and a brown one that has had its nose rubbed off.
PLAY

The Teds

Like characters outgrowing their creator, our teddy bears developed lives of their own

by Sam Firman

Photo of people roller skating on a wooden rink under neon lights in an indoor facility.
PLEASURES AND PASTIMES

The joyful groove never stops at a legendary Chicago roller rink

Directed by Benjamin Buxton

A silhouetted figure on a foggy street corner with traffic lights and blurred car lights at night.
TRAUMA AND PTSD

Trafficked

Cast out by my family as a child, I was groomed by a sex trafficker. I’m finally done with cowering

Jose Alfaro, as told to Larry Lindner