Memoir

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

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

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

Oil painting diptych of a man rowing a boat and a woman in blue with a green background.
LOVE

Two lives drift apart and come together in a love story told one brush stroke at a time

Directed by Ian Bruce

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