The Rising Costs of the Trauma Industrial Complex
Ian Parker’s takedown of bestselling thriller writer Daniel Mallory in The New Yorker reads like a grocery store…
Blood and Guts in High School: How Seventeen Made 'Traumarama'
As a teen, you could have read the wholesome Seventeen magazine for a lot of reasons. Maybe it was the tasteful fashion…
I Thought This Elite Daily Essay About a Girl Realizing Her Date Had Died in a Car Crash Instead of 'Ghosting' Her Was a Parody, But It Is Actually Real
Usually, a personal essay is based on something that has happened in a writer’s life that is personal to them. That’s…
Becoming an Unsuitable Girl
When I was 13, I believed that I should have an arranged marriage. After overhearing me tell an incredulous friend…
I Grieved For My Mother On the Set of Nancy Grace
I went to New York to interview for a job on HLN’s Nancy Grace in September of 2008, fewer than 48 hours after my…
Hillary Clinton's Writing a Book to Tell Us How It All Went Wrong
Back from wandering the Chappaqua woods and enduring one of the most excruciating ceremonies in recent memory, Hillary…
On The Internment of My Grandfather
I remember the exact moment that I connected internment with my family. I was in elementary school, and we had learned…
Hey, I'm No Hero, Just a Decent Man Who Has Never Grabbed a Pussy
I have no daughters, but I have known several daughters in my life, and have a mother, a few women coworkers, plus a…
This November, I'm Voting Third Party
There are fewer than two months to go until election day, and the 2016 presidential campaign has finally completed its…
The Cool Thing About Me
The thing about me is that I don’t care that Anthony Weiner is in the news again for sexting. Sorry, but I fail to see…
My Daughter Forced Me to See Women As People
Here I am, a strong but thoughtful man who believes women deserve respect. And I never would have said it if it weren’t…
I Stole My Coworker Joanna's Granola and It Tasted Great (A Snack Diary)
About one month ago, my coworker Joanna Rothkopf assumed the role of Features Editor at Jezebel dot com.…
Hearst Quietly Kills 'The Mix,' Their Personal Essay Tragedy Content Farm
Hearst has quietly shuttered The Mix, a submission program that allowed young and/or inexperienced, mostly…
xoJane Publishes Terrible Article By a Woman Who’s Glad Her Friend Died, Then Deletes Her Byline
On Thursday, xoJane published an essay titled “My Former Friend’s Death Was a Blessing,” which outlines a series of…
We Need a New Word for Survivor
I recently received a text from my dead brother’s girlfriend. I still think of Dana as Junior’s girlfriend even though…
Lindsay Lohan Published An Essay About 9/11, Plenty of Other Things, to Instagram
On Sunday, September 13, 2015, actress and wedding guest Lindsay Lohan published a 248-word essay on Instagram about…
She Said/She Said: Joyce Maynard's Daughter Takes 'Modern Love' Revenge
Over the summer, professional sharer Joyce Maynard, well, shared an essay about her uncommunicative daughter.…
Your Daughter's Left For College? Cry Me A River
This column's title pretty much says it all: "My Universe Loses a Star". The Drama (or lack thereof) of the empty…
This Week In "Modern Love": Cancer, Drugs, & Cads
I've stopped trying to define how the New York Times defines "love," modern or otherwise. Cause it's conspicuously…
Modern Love: Deadbeats Or Sugar Daddies, Our Only Choices!
"I still would love to experience life as a pampered princess, at least once." Alas, for "the accidental breadwinner,"…