Category: Stories

Lauren had never been the type to question her origins. At 31, she considered her life quiet, maybe even a little boring, but solid. She lived in a modest townhome just outside…

Anna had always believed that if she kept her head down and did good work, life would be fair to her. At 42, she lived alone in a cramped apartment on the…

I was six years old, clutching Mom’s faded wool coat to my chest like a shield, when the apartment door clicked shut for the last time. “Mommy? You coming back?” I whispered…

My name is Anna, I’m 46, and I’ve been a widow for nearly a decade. When my first husband, David, passed away, my world shattered. He’d battled cancer for almost two years….

Andrea, 34, believed that she knew everything about her husband, Jake. The woman got used to her spouse’s behavior, habits and preferences. And no wonder that she started worrying when her significant…

These aren’t big, dramatic gestures. They’re small moments that arrived at the exact right time — when someone felt overwhelmed, stuck, or close to giving up. In each of these 18 stories…

“Don’t do this, Jen. Marrying Chris is a mistake.” Jen, my younger sister, turned to me in her wedding dress, eyes filling with tears. The lace sleeves hung loose around her wrists….

My mother left me her house, but only if I let my brother move in. On Christmas morning, I realized I’d been wrong about him for years. I’m 33, divorced, two kids,…

The house still felt like Mom. Her reading glasses sat on the coffee table next to a bookmark she’d never move again. The blanket she’d crocheted was folded over the back of…

I’m 44F, and I’ve worked at the same neighborhood pharmacy for over a decade. It’s a dead-end job that really doesn’t make me happy, but I need to eat. You hear pieces…