One True Thing

Life's questions, big and small

Jennifer Haupt

After Rape: A Welcomed Return to Self

Rape victims often talk about a “before and after” understanding of self. How do you redefine self after trauma?

Scott James: Grief Builds When a Life Is “Stolen”

While I was deep into writing the book, I received a phone call. My mother was in the hospital. She’d been in a car wreck.

Joan Frank: The Late Work Bylaws

A sudden awareness of shrinking time has a striking way of showing us what is truly important: friendship and creativity.

Hope Edelman: Exposing the 5 Myths of Grief

Grief isn't a one-size-fits-all process. What does it look like for you?

Dinty W. Moore: Sit the Hell Down

"I imagined my retirement as a bursting forth, a late-stage adventure, a time to travel ... Maybe it will be, someday."

Gina Frangello: Final Act

"We didn’t even know how to use Zoom until an hour before, but here we were sending out Zoom invitations to our pop-up wedding..."

David Sheff: Turning Grief into Active Compassion

"We can treat our pain and create change when we turn our anger into action, when we connect with others, and we do our best to help those in need."

My Shelter-in-Place Dance Party

Now, more than ever, I need to dance — to choose joy, even if only for 30 seconds. It’s a way to have a glimmer of control during this dark time. For me, it’s also a prayer for those who are struggling.

Kristen Millares Young

Kristen Millares Young: The Inescapable Joys of Motherhood

A mother gets to know her children better during the time of isolation.

Poet Jane Hirshfield: Today, When I Could Do Nothing

A poet connects with nature during the time of isolation.

Caroline Leavitt: Sibling Estrangement and Social Distancing

I want to know she’s safe... And maybe, too, the truth is, what I really yearn for is for her to want to know that I am safe.

Erica Bauermeister: How to Make a House a Home

How do you renovate your life? Start with your home.

Christine Hemp: Love Lessons from My Horse

What animals can teach us about staying present, facing fear, and accepting joy.

Gina Frangello: 10 Things I Learned About Love From Divorce

Ten things I've learned about how to let go—and go forward—with decency and mercy.

Adrienne Brodeur Talks About Keeping Her Mother’s Secrets

Adrienne Brodeur's new memoir is a moving, masterful mother-daughter story about the secrets we keep and the pain we endure for love.

Tim O'Brien on Becoming a Parent at 58

"My intent was ... just to scribble down short love letters to my sons, little messages in a bottle they might stumble across decades after my death."

Fake News Has Real Consequences in Haiti

We must hold the media accountable for reporting in a truthful, non-partisan way.

Dawn Raffel: Four Yoga Practices to Boost Creativity

Yoga is a great way to practice Svadhyaya, or self-study, and as we tune into what's going on in the body and mind, the pathways to creativity often become untangled.

R.L. Maizes: When Your Cat Falls for Your Partner

I've never been the jealous type--until my cat fell in love with my husband.

Catherine Porter: Altruism is About More Than Giving Money

I thought of paying for a child's school as a simple act of altruism that would help me as much as it helped her… but there was nothing simple about aid or Haiti.

David Shields: Men, #METOO, and Mommy Issues

According to the FBI profile of serial rapists, they aren’t just punishing many women; inevitably, they’re punishing one woman.

Is It Okay to Cheat on My Husband (in My Fantasies)?

Inviting, say, George Clooney, into the bedroom can be a boom for our sex lives. And, according to experts, there's no reason to feel guilty about it.

5 Ways to Stop Being a Narcissistic Friend

"It’s one thing to talk about how to get rid of toxic friendships. It’s another to realize that, in fact, you are the toxic friend."

Dani Shapiro: DNA Test Unlocks Powerful Family Secrets

"Secrets have their own energy and power—eventually, no matter how well-hidden, how buried, the truth will come out."

Ten New Year’s Resolutions to Enhance Creativity

Are you looking for creative rejuvenation for the New Year? Check out these suggestions from bestselling authors.

7 Vital Steps to Resiliency for Veterans

"I had to make some changes if I wanted to get out of the deep, dark hole of depression. I had to stop pretending I was superhuman."

Interview with Barbara Kingsolver: "Unsheltered"

A new book offers perspective and hope in tough times.

Dawn Raffel: Altruism and Self-Interest

New book explores the “incubator doctor” of Coney Island, the first person in US to practice neonatology--and he ran a sideshow of premie babies. Altruist or opportunist? Both?

When Therapy Becomes Emotional Blackmail

Here's how I stopped seeing myself as a victim of an abusive therapist--and learned to trust myself more.

7 Tips for Creating a Playlist

Author Amy Mason Doan wanted listeners to be hooked on her playlist, the way they’d (hopefully) be hooked on her novel.

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