Peak solitude

My three decades alone, basking in the company of a mountain

by Susanne Sener

Long-exposure photo of a road at night with blurry, colourful light trails from car headlights and taillights against a dark background.

THE SELF

Self out of joint

Sudden amnesia untethered me from my past. Was I the same person or had I become someone else?

by Steven Hales

Photo of a woman’s face reflected in a glass window with soft, abstract focus and greenish tones.

THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIPS

More than survival

I suffered from PTSD for 10 years without knowing it. Psychodynamic therapy set me free

by Lucia Osborne-Crowley

Close-up of a person’s hands using a smartphone at night, with blurred city lights in the background.

SELF-HARM AND SUICIDE

Into the unknown, together

Six months into working a suicide helpline, I became a better conversationalist — and friend

by Natalia Dashan

Vintage black-and-white photo of two women in swimsuits wearing 1930s hairstyles, lighting one another’s cigarettes.

DRUGS AND PSYCHEDELICS

Exquisite fiend, ephemeral friend

Remember when smoking was the excuse for a sweet pause?

by Caroline Eden

Illustration of person climbing through a window which takes the place of one square in a giant period table, through the window is a city scene.

HOME

Lab at the edge of the world

When my daughter was bullied, I decided to homeschool her. A chain reaction ensued

by Lea Page

Photo of rolled corrugated paper forming spirals and curves, with light creating shadows on its textured surface.

EMOTION REGULATION

What geometry taught me about grief

And how thinking about grief gave me new insights into geometry

by Michael Frame

Silhouette of a person next to a glowing orange lamp in a dark room.

FRIENDSHIP

Discarded

The end of a friendship cracked me apart, triggering hidden memories – and helping me heal old wounds

by Antonia Malchik

Photo of a person carrying a child with blue star shorts on their back, walking on a path lined with green plants.

CAREGIVING

A sister who wasn’t ours

We were her foster family for two and a half years. We had no claim to her, but she became part of us

by Kelsey Day

Photo of a cyclist casting dramatic shadows on sunlit pavement, with warm light flares creating a dreamy effect.

PSYCHIATRIC MEDICATION

Foggy bottom

Benzos probably saved my life. But I also don’t remember much of it

by Alex Smith

Illustration of a woman standing in a giant conch shell, nestled among giant books, a large beaded necklace and various other objects, holding a small mirror, wearing a red top on a beige background.

MEMOIR

Love, shame and 325 bags of trash

In my mother’s hoarding house, I found something I wanted to keep

by Deborah Derrickson Kossmann

A person with a backpack hiking through a dense forest towards a rocky riverbank.

DEPRESSION

In the hole

A metaphor for depression became a catalyst, and I started to reinvent my approach to suffering

by Tasha Eichenseher

A yellow taxi on a busy street, people walking, child holding flowers, historic building in the background under a blue sky.

VALUES AND BELIEFS

Confessions of a teenage fundamentalist

My world was dark and scary. But beautiful things crept in, and threats of hell just couldn’t compete

by Liz Boltz Ranfeld

Photo of a large cloud viewed through a window framed by silhouetted trees and power lines.

DRUGS AND PSYCHEDELICS

A life-saving boredom

For years, I sought to escape my own mind. Once I became fascinated by it, getting high lost its allure

by Rafael Frumkin

Two people walking through a park with trees casting shadows. A bench is visible.

ADDICTION

The last blackout

Getting sober meant facing myself without the fog, and finding new ways to be gentle inside

by Michael Thomas Kincella

Photo of a group of dogs running on grass in a park with a graffitied wall and pavement in the background.

ANIMALS

Feral knowledge

I wrote a book about dogs as pets. But I truly understood them only after I was bitten by a street dog

by Margret Grebowicz