We build our Eden—plank by plank, stone by stone—plotting, designing, hammering, lifting, digging, and planting our private, peaceful...

Be truly joyful, like one who, though his house has burned down, feels a deep need in the soul to begin building anew. – Martin Buber The...

*Photo credit: Erin Wilby On a crisp, sunny morning in March, my sister and I laced up our hiking boots and set out for the trail through...

My past selves still speak to me sometimes, asking me to remember them and their struggles and what they have done or failed to do to get...

I lay out the cork pieces, a timeline of reception, a forced exercise in the art of exorcise. The cork is the opposite of self; I will...

I got my first period in late 2002 or early 2003. It was around then too that I had a second set of braces removed, shed my childish Keds...

“I want to be back in the van, where evil never would nor could nor should ever understand. Back in the van, it's anything, but their...

I awaken as the sun emerges from the Santa Ynez mountains visible from where I lie, sleep-cleared of yesterday’s heavy grief, with only...

My Great Aunt Emma was already quite old when I was born. In my memory I think of her as being like Granny, the widowed owner of Tweety...

My first love was a TV trope. I was first exposed to the Sensitive Geek through Seth Cohen, a character from the The OC. He loved anime,...

It’s not fair. The first time I remember saying this was when I was four years old and had gotten in trouble for an argument that was...

The metal equipment clanged against the walls as we climbed the steep staircase. Before we reached the door, the acrid smell hit us and I...