Browse Topics
Addiction and Recovery
Distractions
Reading at work, listening to music during labor, swatting gnats while meditating
July 2026
The Good End of Pleasant Street
When our landlords came by to introduce themselves, they stood beside a shelf of our books on how to avoid suffering: “Develop a mind that clings to nothing,” said the Buddhist Diamond Sutra; Be Here Now, read the spine of a Ram Dass book. Dan was a general contractor and wore a flat cap and a half grin. Or a sneer. I wasn’t sure which.
June 2026
Our Fraying Hearts
I have a sense of the drama people want to hear about, but most days our ER is filled with abdominal pain and vomiting—nothing like what you’re accustomed to seeing on TV.
June 2026
Pockets
Shoplifting cigarettes, running the pool table, creating a “pocket prairie”
March 2026
The Night I Don't Remember
It doesn’t matter how many AA meetings you go to. As long as you are taking oxycodone and oxymorphone, you’re going to be high, and, as long as you have complex regional pain syndrome, you’re going to be taking something serious for the pain.
March 2026
Expats
Rhonda tended to take in people—and cats, Jessica said. Spending about $150 of her monthly Social Security check on cat food, in addition to supporting her meth habit, had left her broke most of the time.
March 2026
Celebrating
A fiftieth anniversary in Paris, a COVID Christmas in April, a first birthday in America
December 2025
Start with Overripe Bananas
You have to start with overripe bananas. Really overripe—not yellow with a couple of streaks but two thin-skinned ones that can hardly contain their own soft flesh. You should be able to smell banana from across your kitchen.
August 2025
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