Interview by Carolina Meurkens, Photography by Mariah Miranda In a society that values whiteness and one’s ability to approximate it, hair can be a battleground. In Hair Stories, we wrestle with what it means to love yourself through your relationship with hair and others’ perception of it. Through interviews with our editors, contributors and community … Read moreHair Stories: (Elizabeth)
Nearly an eighth of the world population struggles with a diagnosable mental illness. Most folks with psychological disorders do not have access to adequate care due to a lack of services and supports, capacity issues, accessibility issues, cost issues, or widespread stigma that discourages people from seeking help. Cultural perspectives, language, and idiomatic expressions all … Read moreThe Issue with Involuntary Psychiatric Holds: a Call for Patient-Centered Mental Health Treatment by Julian Petrello, MA, LMSW
image by Claire Harrup via The Nature Conservancy If you’ve ever been hiking, backpacking, or camping deeper in the woods, in the desert, or lived somewhere outside of a busy metropolitan area, you’ve experienced the true beauty that is nature in its purest, most sustainable form. You will have experienced what I will define as … Read moreThe Freedom in Community – Choosing the Forest by Monique Murad
Image by Qian Shi So What Do You DO All Day? Spoiler alert: Nothing. Health is a full-time job for people with chronic illnesses, and that’s okay. Our value as people is not defined by how much we “contribute” to society. For some reason, this is a difficult thing to grasp for many. We don’t … Read moreSo What Do You DO All Day? by Mi Nguyen
Image: David Hockeny Pool I, 1978-80 You became a woman at eight years old. You don’t get your period until much later, but at eight years old, you are confronted with the uncomfortable realization that your female body is the object of desire of the straight male species. It is in an instant that this … Read moreyou have a body now by Nico Shea
I emerged from quarantine with the distinct confidence and self-assuredness that only comes from the relief of ending a relationship or leaving a place you have outgrown. I was experiencing both freedoms as 2022 began. I had just ended my longest-term relationship a month prior, graduated college in December, accepted a dream job offer, signed … Read moreHow Taking a Break From Dating Helped Me Fall Back In Love With Myself by Serena Zets
Photo Source: Instagram @therealkaycee_ I didn’t know much, but I knew this was funny: The man who cheated on me a few days after we began a relationship sent me a one-thousand word breakup text beginning with a Maya Angelou quote – you know, the slightly annoying one about “people showing you who they are … Read moreI Didn’t Know Much by Nwokedi Kenechukwu
Interview by Carolina Meurkens and Selvi Bunce Chloe Dulce Louvouezo is a Congolese-American author, mother, and advocate for women whose work is driven by discourse on identity and healing. She is author of Life, I Swear: Intimate Stories from Black Women on Identity, Healing, and Self-Trust (HarperCollins Publishers, November 2021), through which she explores nuances … Read more(Issue 15) Prose Feature: Chloe Dulce Louvouezo
Photo by Darina Belonogova Frankly—if I were a villain, this would be my origin story. TW/CW: domestic violence, sexual assault We met in 2016. I was a 20 year old aspiring creative. He was 38 and had reached virality as a performance artist in NYC, and on the internet. I dreamt of being a muse … Read moreWhen ‘Disabled’ Meets ‘Narcissist’ by Mi Nguyen
Some people don’t visit their high schools until the reunion, which makes everyone fearful of if they changed for the better or for the worst. Some folks don’t visit until they are back home and just stop by to remember that that place doesn’t just exist in their dreams. For a moment in time, it … Read moreWhen A Memory Becomes A Stranger by Mayana Nell