Marla showed up to work the day after learning about the cancer. She'd told only Jenn, not her mother and definitely not her father. She'd probably never tell her brother. But she had no idea what she wanted to say…

He had an idea, to plan a trip, something to celebrate the end of my show, but also because he was smart, and knew January sucked. “New Orleans. The jazz, Nina.” “I know. I’ve been,” I purred. “The food. You’re…

I don't know how to swim. It's not for lack of trying, though, because I attempted to learn a couple of times in my life. The first time, I was in college. I went to an HBCU (historically black college/university),…

It’s odd to come upon the words “cowardice” and “courage” immediately after reading about the death of a man who had been a huge part of our Creative Writing program, a poet, and an editor of The Forum, the literary…

When he heard how much my husband Kenji and I paid for our house, my father asked, "Did they throw in the Golden Gate Bridge too?" I told him he didn't know what he was talking about. By driving ancient…

In second year of grad school, the Minnesota winter felt even worse, and I despaired of ever having normal toes again. But, to keep warm, I did not go out and buy new snow boots, which was my usual defense…

(Hello! This is an essay I'm revising for publication in a local creative writing journal. I'd love to get a little feedback/reaction to how it's landing. Thanks so much!) My vision of myself as a writer has always been plot-driven,…

We wake up every morning with a choice to make. Sure many choices like five more minutes or get out and walk, flats or heals, oatmeal or cinnamon roll. But, that's not the choice I'm talking about. How about the…

Sunbeam Vintage is a place you don’t think about visiting on New Year’s Eve, but that’s where I was, way out in Pasadena, getting dining chairs. Can’t have a dining party without chairs. And in less than eight hours, eight…

A tree, missing bark broken branches falling off wounds lead to decay. A child, who can't love mood swings, crying jags, outbursts chases help away. Easier to fix a damaged tree, than to teach hearts to trust again.

Wind blows the chimney over, rain leaks through the old roof, staining the ceiling or mold grows on the bedroom wall. It’s worth spending the necessary hours or days to figure out what caused that damage and to fix it.…

Do you think the woman with the dog scanned my wallet? Wait? What? It’s not a coincidence that as soon as I left Starbucks I got that scam call. Your wallet doesn’t have your maiden name on any of your…