Published Essays

Trigger Warning: Some of these essays contain references to suicide which may be distressing for some readers. Please take care of yourself and seek support if needed.  If you are in the United States and need immediate help, you can call or text 988 or use webchat at 988lifeline.org. You are not alone.

New York Times Modern Love | When a Doorbell’s Ring Means Hope
The doorbell rang one mid-December evening. I frequently had unexpected visitors in those early days after my husband’s death, sometimes bearing dinner, often with tears. But when my 6-year old son opened the door, nobody was there. Continue reading.

New York Times Tiny Love Story | My Husband’s Late Wife
I like to think we could have been friends. She gave birth to two boys. Years later, I handed them lunches in paper bags when they walked out the door. Continue Reading.

Short Reads | Invitation
The baby shower invitation is still waiting on the black granite counter when we return home almost a week after the mandatory evacuation order roared on our phones. Our electricity, water, and gas have been restored, though it will be another two weeks before the fires will be contained at any percentage worth reporting. Continue reading.

Hippocampus | Grief Math
It starts with counting. By the time they notify me, my husband has been dead one, two, three hours, maybe four. He died at 1:30pm; I don’t know what time it is now. I will not be on time again for the foreseeable future. I count the time since Sam’s death in hours, then days, until it has been an entire week.  Continue reading.

Brevity Blog | The Best Editing Advice: Read and Record Your Work Out Loud
he best editing advice I received when I was writing my memoir seemed horrifying at first. I was taking a workshop with Emily Rapp Black, and she described the most efficient editing technique she knows: first, record yourself reading your entire manuscript; then, listen to yourself read the whole thing. Continue reading.

Writers Digest | The Story Wrote Me
My first college English paper was returned to me with red ink sprawling across the page like a map of Los Angeles showing rush hour traffic during the summer on a night when the Dodgers were playing at home and the Hollywood Bowl was sold out. And I had only taken freshman English because I thought it would be easy, a nice wordy break from calculus, physics, and chemistry. Continue reading.

CNN | Simone Biles Winning Strategy Priorities Mental Health. Here’s How to Do It
Simone Biles credited her return to the Olympics this year primarily to being “in a really good spot mentally.” She described her devotion to weekly therapy as “kinda religious.” Her athletic performances at the Paris Olympics this month were thrilling, earning her three gold medals and one silver medal. But what I really admire is her commitment to keeping her mental health in the limelight right alongside her gymnastics accomplishments. Continue reading.