On Wilderness #52essays2017 no. 19
When my great hero Edward Abbey lived with his family in Hoboken, NJ, he wrote that “we had all the wilderness we needed.†I think he was lying. Notably, he…
On Springsteen #52essays2017 no. 18
During the worst of my anxiety this spring, I had a panic attack at every red light. There are seven stoplights between my house and my work, and one of…
Swimming #52essays2017 no. 17
When I was a child the locker rooms at the outdoor pool in my town were open to the air so that, we imagined, the occasional balloonist or low flying…
Malcolm #52essays2017 no. 16
I often feel awkward, if not outright apologetic, as a white woman who gave her very white son the middle name of Malcolm after Malcolm X. I am a pacifist…
Fears #52essays2017 no. 15
I’m afraid of listening to new podcasts, even when they come highly recommended. Sometimes I’m even afraid of listening to new episodes of podcasts I love, and so I listen…
The Psych Ward, Nineteen Years Later #52essays2017 no. 14
Yet why not say what happened? —Robert Lowell 12 April 2017 There’s a paperclip on the floor of my room and I’m oddly thrilled by it — it must be…
The Birthday Photos #52essays2017 no. 13
The pictures are from my seventh birthday and they make me cry. My mother found them the other day and originally thought they were from my fifth birthday, so she…
On Knitting #52essays2017 no. 12
My mother and I learned to knit from a book called Knitting in Plain English. She got it first from our local branch of the Indianapolis Public Library and later…
Depression #52essays2017 no. 11
Like many people, I suffer from depression and anxiety, but I tend to feel I’m the only one. In my right mind I know that’s just another lie depression tells…
Telephone #52essays2017 no. 10
Unpacking ought to make me happy, particularly seeing the books, my old friends, but instead it fills me with dread and makes me wonder yet again if a match wouldn’t…