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"Deadkidistan"

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“Deadkidistan” By: Michelle Mirsky "Pain, It Doesn't Get Easy" Pain doesn't simply go away, instead someone must learn how to live with it. It will always be a baggage that you carry with you, but as you continue on your journey the baggage becomes a little lighter. Michelle Mirsky is a writer and a mother, and according to her website, michellemirsky.com, she is working on a full-length memoir based on a series of autobiographical columns that appeared originally on McSweeney's Internet Tendency between October 2011 and August 2012. “Deadkidistan” is featured in the 2013 edition of The Best American Essays” and it is the story of her journey on trying to find a way to cope with her eldest son’s death. The author has to work in the same hospital in which her son died of cancer, and she works with the parents of patients who also have cancer. She tries to come to terms with her son’s death, but nothing helped. All her life bad things had happened to he...
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"Channel B"

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“Channel B” By:Megan Stielstra "Postpartum Depression" Postpartum depression is something that happens to millions of new mothers and fathers all over the world. It can have a great toll someone's mental health, and it can last forever if it isn't treated. For more information on PPD and for ways to find help visit  http://www.postpartumprogress.com/the-symptoms-of-postpartum-depression-anxiety-in-plain-mama-english (Picture provided by: womenshealthmag.com) Megan Stielstra is the author of three collections titled: The Wrong Way To Save Your Life, Once I Was Cool, and Everyone Remain Calm. Also according to her website, meganstielstra.com, she goes around the country to classrooms and conferences to speak on the importance of writing and having an education. She also teaches a creative nonfiction class at Northwestern University. Her essay “Channel B” was featured in the 2013 edition of The Best American Essays , and it is the story of her postpartum depr...
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"Field Notes on Hair"

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“Field Notes on Hair” By: Vicki Weiqi Yang "Beauty vs. Brains" It's always been a subject of debate for women everywhere, but what is more important, brains or beauty? Many millennials will argue now that brains are much more attractive, but many women who are older argue that beauty is the most important thing a girl should have to worry about. Is it the generation gap? (Picture provided by: grokshockstudios.com) Vicki Weiqi Yang is a fourth-year political science major at the University of Chicago, and plainchina.bennington.edu mentions that some of her research interests include: urban innovation, structures of governance, and the geopolitics of East Asia. The story of her stroke and how she dealt with it was featured in the 2013 edition of The Best American Essays . Her essay is titled “Field Notes on Hair” and it introduces us to the author after she experienced a stroke at a very young age. Although the author jokes about her condition throughout her stor...
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"I'm Jumping Off the Bridge"

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“I’m Jumping Off the Bridge” By: Kevin Sampsell Kevin Sampsell is an editor at Portland Noir , a publisher with Future Tense Books, an employee at a bookstore in Oregon(Powell’s Books), and a collage artist. Also according to his website, kevinsampsell.com, he has written a memoir titled “A Common Pornography”, a short story collection called “Creamy Bullets”, and a novel titled “This is Between Us”. His work has been featured in websites and publications such as: Tin House, Salon, the Rumpus, and his essay “I’m Jumping Off the Bridge” was featured in the 2013 edition of The Best American Essays. In this essay, the author is confronted by a man who is mentally unstable and believes he is unwanted, so he has set his mind on jumping off the bridge but something is holding him back. The author talks the man out of committing suicide and begins to be very boastful about this experience. Soon after this incident, the author begins to reevaluate his life that happened to be spinning ou...
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"Keeper of the Flame"

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“Keeper of the Flame” By: Matthew Vollmer "We Are the Same" People are quick to judge one another, even when we don't know the truth about each other. Everybody is connected in one way or another, and we could either live in the mistakes of our relatives or grow and learn from them. (Photograph is from huffingtonpost.com) Matthew Vollmer is the author of two short fiction collections titled Gateway to Paradise and Future Missionaries of America and his work has also been featured in 26 magazines, some including: Paris Review, Glimmer Train, The Sun, Virginia Quarterly Review, and Antioch Review. Also according to his website, matthewvollmer.com, he has a B.A. and M.A. in English from North Carolina State University, and he is the recipient of the 2010 National Endowment for the Arts Grant and the recipient of the Sturm Award for Creative Arts at Virginia Tech. His essay “Keeper of the Flame” is featured in the 2013 edition of The Best American...
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