In Rachel Zemach's essay, first published in Huffpost, we learn that for a deaf person, being able to speak is not superior to communicating in ASL (American Sign Language). Rachel lost her hearing as a ten-year-old girl and as a result, can speak clearly--unlike many people who are deaf. But this doesn't give her an advantage. In fact, complications arise when people assume that if she can speak, she can hear. In this informative essay, we learn through Rachel's honesty and humor that ...

In this exquisitely poetic essay, first published in The Diagram and republished in Creative Nonfiction, Diana Xin takes our listeners back to her grandmother's rural village where she boils water for drinking and hangs her laundry on the line. "To accumulate so many years and so few regrets: this must be a life well lived," the writer explains. She takes us through the tragedies of her grandmother's life, the loss of family as one after one children and grandchildren move away, out int...

Not everyone has an amazing relationship with their parents. Not every parent is a person we feel proud to be related to, to be "of". In some cases, we are simply just different people. Or maybe the problems run deeper, into past actions or beliefs. Janice Northerns faces her conflicted feelings head-on in the essay Something Like Love, first published in Yellow Arrow, where she describes being at her father's deathbed, struggling to define their relationship.

In this special edition of The Personal Element, we rebroadcast an episode of Lesley University's Why We Write podcast. Christine and Tavi talk about their writing lives as well as dig into Cindy House's essay "Urgent Care" from her acclaimed memoir/essay collection Mother Noise. They are joined by host Georgia Sparling to dissect this fabulous essay on mothering and regret encapsulated in a visit to an emergency room. With incredibly crisp, economical language, Cindy House helps readers refl...

Alice block is a writer who has a great depth of knowledge about music, theater, and performance in general. She's published two memoirs (and a novel) exploring her relationships with the women in her life, her own sexual awakening and her rich life experiences in the 1970s New York City gay scene. Alice contemplates a man named Lenny who she almost married in comparison to the "relationship" she had with the famous Leonard Bernstein. With humor and aplomb, Alice takes us through her successe...

Icelandic-American writer Margrét Ann Thors takes readers on a surprising ride from Reykjavík to Colorado through her imaginative translations. The essay, though beautiful and amusing, touches on such heavy subjects as abortion, mass shootings and serious medical conditions. Margrét deftly explores her feelings around perpetrators and zealots in relation to her pregnancy. In gorgeous language, this essay will have you wondering how the author managed to weave all these subjects into one piece...

Scientist and writer Lauren Tanabe takes us through her anxiety-ridden world of early motherhood. Concerns that her child will be injured or fall ill push Lauren to isolate herself further, hoping to keep her daughter clear of germs and accidents. With clear self-analysis, she admits that her anxiety is not something she wants to pass on. Listeners will identify with the writer's worries. Written pre-pandemic, the essay is almost prescient in its discussion of germs and phobias. "Motherh...

Essayist Kelly Eden discusses the larger questions in life as she skillfully weaves in her experiences with a chronical illness, contemplations regarding the movie Tick Tick Boom and the life of "Rent" creator Jonathan Larson, and a desire to make a mark in the world.Christine and Tavi contemplate their own relationships with health, writing and fear of death while pointing out the economy of words in this essay which was first published on Medium.com.You can also check out Kelly's Personal e...

Rabbi Elliot Kukla writes about the importance of taking time to rest in his essay which was first published in the New York Times. With an ear to the pulse of a nation exhausted from natural disasters mass shootings and the pandemic, Kukla proscribes a remedy of laziness and relaxation to heal our deepest wounds. As a physically disabled person, Kukla has had no choice but to allow his body to rest and as a result, has reaped the rewards of slowing down, of taking time to lay in ...

In his incredibly chilling and honest essay, “The Dark Month”, Christopher Collins explores his faith and belief after witnessing a boy's senseless death during the war in Afghanistan. Brian O'Neil reads this essay that was first published in Creative Nonfiction. The essay is a bit longer than most of the pieces we choose, but we felt passionately that the subject matters of PTSD, mental health for veterans, and finding one's way after returning from war deserved a longer ep...