Turning points

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

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

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

Black and white photo of two men by a waterfront fence, with boats and a hillside town in the background.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

Stealing my father

I’d long had a rocky relationship with my dad. Then, a predatory caregiver took over his life

by Mark Teich

People dancing closely in dim lighting. The focus is on movement and atmosphere at a night event.
SHAME AND GUILT

Footloose in Havana

In China, I was used to treating my body like a problem. In Cuba, everyone seemed at home in theirs

Syren Chan, as told to Lavender Au

A Polaroid photo of two people standing together smiling in front of a painted mural depicting the sea and clouds.
HUMAN RIGHTS AND JUSTICE

More than a mugshot

As a crime reporter, I wrote about people behind bars. I learned much more when I began writing to them

by Amelia Arvesen

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

Popular

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

Illustration of two people standing in a forest, at the top of a waterfall, with a dog below; money is washing away down the waterfall into a pond, as well as a car and house pictured in the pond below.
MONEY AND ECONOMICS

Money

When an investment tanked and buried us in debt, we had to face the truth of how we’d gotten there

by Carol Berkower

Illustration of a night scene with musicians performing, a person on a chair, a bird flying and mountains in the background.
MEMORY AND NOSTALGIA

Synchronicity

Long ago, I gave a boy a greenfinch. That moment followed me in ways I’m still puzzling over

by Katia Ariel

Illustration of a woman floating in space surrounded by large hands and small stars on a dark background.
ALTERED STATES

The psychic who healed me

It was just like her – my bold, dead mother – to show up in my life again. Or was grief playing tricks on me?

by Amanda Leigh Lichtenstein

A dog with a leash standing on a carved wooden bench in front of a field and bare trees under a cloudy sky.
ANIMALS

Dog day blues

We were a new stepfamily, and only the puppy was missing. With Elsa, we lobbed a grenade into the mix

by Lily Dunn

A large rock with carvings and natural indentations surrounded by green foliage.
TRADITIONAL ARTS

The lost art of making a petroglyph

Inspired by 6,000-year-old rock art in Norway, I decided to create a new carving closer to home

by Rémy Noë

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

Black and white photo of two men by a waterfront fence, with boats and a hillside town in the background.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

Stealing my father

I’d long had a rocky relationship with my dad. Then, a predatory caregiver took over his life

by Mark Teich

Popular

View all
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

Illustration of two people standing in a forest, at the top of a waterfall, with a dog below; money is washing away down the waterfall into a pond, as well as a car and house pictured in the pond below.
MONEY AND ECONOMICS

Money

When an investment tanked and buried us in debt, we had to face the truth of how we’d gotten there

by Carol Berkower

Illustration of a night scene with musicians performing, a person on a chair, a bird flying and mountains in the background.
MEMORY AND NOSTALGIA

Synchronicity

Long ago, I gave a boy a greenfinch. That moment followed me in ways I’m still puzzling over

by Katia Ariel

An elderly woman in a blue jacket holding a book, smiling warmly at the camera indoors.
SPIRITUALITY AND RELIGION

Converted by Sister Ruth

At a Texas convent, what could a sublimely uncouth sister in her mid-80s teach me about helping people?

by Ronald W Dworkin

Two children’s dresses lying flat, one blue the other white with floral patterns and colourful smocking.
PARENTING AND FAMILIES

The daughter I never had

I loved my three sons but still yearned for a girl. Why did this fill me with such shame?

by Emma Wilkins

People sitting by a small stream in a wooded area during daytime, with sunlight filtering through bare trees.
COMMUNICATION AND LANGUAGE

Whispers in the wind

How I learned to hear the voice of my ancestors and speak Lenape, a language silenced for generations

Krista Nelson, as told to Dawn Fallik

A dog with a leash standing on a carved wooden bench in front of a field and bare trees under a cloudy sky.
ANIMALS

Dog day blues

We were a new stepfamily, and only the puppy was missing. With Elsa, we lobbed a grenade into the mix

by Lily Dunn

Illustration of a woman floating in space surrounded by large hands and small stars on a dark background.
ALTERED STATES

The psychic who healed me

It was just like her – my bold, dead mother – to show up in my life again. Or was grief playing tricks on me?

by Amanda Leigh Lichtenstein

A man looking through the scope of a rifle in a crowded exhibition with mounted deer heads in the background.
PLEASURES AND PASTIMES

My husband, the gun nut

Three years into a blissful relationship, my partner picked up a hobby that sent me spiralling

by Lindsey Harrington

Black and white close-up photo of a person’s arm showing skin texture and pigment and shadows; protruding ribs are visible behind the arm.
EATING DISORDERS

A ghost in limbo

Two decades of anorexia obscured who I was beneath my sickness. Then a stranger saw me

by Miranda Gold

Illustration of two people standing in a forest, at the top of a waterfall, with a dog below; money is washing away down the waterfall into a pond, as well as a car and house pictured in the pond below.
MONEY AND ECONOMICS

Money

When an investment tanked and buried us in debt, we had to face the truth of how we’d gotten there

by Carol Berkower