Turning points

Insightful and poetic first-person accounts of turning points and transformations
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

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

A smiling woman with two children in a sunny park, lush green trees in the background.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

Fight like a mother

Doctors said my son would die. I wouldn’t believe them, raised millions of dollars and travelled the world for a cure

Amber Freed, as told to Lina Zeldovich

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

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 charred landscape with a narrow path leading through burnt terrain towards a distant hill under a clear blue sky.
CAREGIVING
7

Defensible space

My husband was in crisis and our home faced wildfire. When it came, I saw the cost of holding the line

by Moonshine Matthiessen

An elderly hand resting being held by younger hands against a dark background.
VALUES AND BELIEFS
14

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 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

A large daddy longlegs spider on the ceiling with many tiny baby spiders nearby.
FEAR AND PHOBIA

Arachnophobia

I’ve always been terrified of spiders, yet one day I adopted the daddy longlegs in my bathroom

by Ruth Kogen Goodwin

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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

Illustration of a couple holding hands walking past a giant cheque that unravels to reveal a scenic view of a bridge over a river and the Eiffel tower.
LOVE

My swindler sweetheart

I was a pushover with a habit of picking cheating men as boyfriends; then one of them pushed me too far

by Patricia Olsen

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

An elderly hand resting being held by younger hands against a dark background.
VALUES AND BELIEFS
14

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

Three people laughing and holding drinks at a party, showing hands and faces partially, with a joyful atmosphere.
COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE
4

Mind the accent

When I spoke like someone I wasn’t, people listened more closely. What did that say about them – and me?

by Erica Mayor

Shadows on a wall, showing silhouettes of people and plants. A chair and a plug socket are partially visible.
VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION

Sticks and stones and words

A smart, educated woman, there’s no way I could have ended up in an abusive relationship, could I?

by Zoe Michaels

A rustic log sauna by a lake. Warm orange glow from inside contrasts with the serene lakeside view.
RITUALS AND CELEBRATIONS

The sauna life

Each cycle of steam and cold brought me closer to the land, my mother, and the version of myself I’d left behind

by Katja Pettinen

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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

Illustration of a couple holding hands walking past a giant cheque that unravels to reveal a scenic view of a bridge over a river and the Eiffel tower.
LOVE

My swindler sweetheart

I was a pushover with a habit of picking cheating men as boyfriends; then one of them pushed me too far

by Patricia Olsen

Watercolour painting of a person in red near a foggy lake with a tree and red leaves in the foreground.
VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION

Brother love

After my brother Chris died by suicide, my other brother Dave tried to kill me. Here’s how I survived

by Anita Lambert

A person handling several 1000 Kenyan shilling banknotes at a desk, with motion blur on one note being moved.
MONEY AND ECONOMICS

Accidental millionaire

When a big deposit appeared from nowhere in my account, it changed my life – but not how you’d think

by Kelvin Njeri

A rustic log sauna by a lake. Warm orange glow from inside contrasts with the serene lakeside view.
RITUALS AND CELEBRATIONS

The sauna life

Each cycle of steam and cold brought me closer to the land, my mother, and the version of myself I’d left behind

by Katja Pettinen

Two people smiling in front of colourful fish graffiti, the man is sitting in a wheelchair the woman is standing beside him.
CAREGIVING

The circle held

A bike crash left my husband paralysed. What happened next taught me something profound about community

by Sadie Witkowski

Three people laughing and holding drinks at a party, showing hands and faces partially, with a joyful atmosphere.
COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE
4

Mind the accent

When I spoke like someone I wasn’t, people listened more closely. What did that say about them – and me?

by Erica Mayor

A colourful plush owl toy with polka-dot wings hanging indoors against a polka-dotted wall background.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

Again, again, again

I’m not infertile, but I experience recurrent miscarriages. I worry about how many more I can take

by Jami Nakamura Lin

Shadows on a wall, showing silhouettes of people and plants. A chair and a plug socket are partially visible.
VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION

Sticks and stones and words

A smart, educated woman, there’s no way I could have ended up in an abusive relationship, could I?

by Zoe Michaels

Photo of a cross in the sky with a blurred rainbow-coloured flag in the foreground.
SEX AND SEXUALITY

Severe joy

I wanted conviction to tell me if I could be gay and Catholic. My convictions told me something bigger

by Will Martino