Night shifts at the hospital aren’t nearly as dramatic as people think. No, I don’t carry a gun. No, I don’t chase intruders down dimly lit hallways in slow motion. Most nights it’s just me, a walkie-talkie, and the hum of vending machines — and I’m not complaining. I’m 45, male, and I’ve been…

My name is Lawrence. I’m 28 years old, and yesterday cracked my entire world wide open. You always think you’ll know when something’s wrong. That your gut will scream, that instincts will kick in. But I missed it. And now, I live with the sound of my newborn son’s screams burned into my memory.…

Have you ever had one of those days where the world seems hell-bent on breaking you? I was only 18, but I felt like I’d aged a decade in the last two years. Life has a way of kicking you when you’re down, and then stomping on your ribs just for good measure. I…

I’m a single dad to the most precious seven-year-old girl, and, like most single parents, this is not the way I expected my life to turn out. Emma’s mom left when she was three. One day, she just packed a bag, said she “needed space,” and walked out. I thought she’d be back, but…

Daniel has an older sister, Lauren. She’s 42 now, and I’ve always liked her. She’s one of those women who look like they have everything under control. When I met him, he told me, “If you want to impress me, impress Lauren.” Over the years, she became one of my closest friends. Four years…

I was stirring a pot of dollar-store noodles with one hand while leaning over to help my eight-year-old son, Liam, spell “astronomer.” He’d been obsessed with space since he was five and saw his first shooting star. Every night, he’d drag me outside to point at constellations he’d memorized from library books. It was…