The first time I crossed the Atlantic, I slept in a bucket. No longer a baguette-sized infant, I have grown to consider unpredictability foremost among the pleasures of travel. Coming from the brutally predictable setting of a Vermont Catholic high school, I cherish my summers in Rome. I think I first truly appreciated the wonderful […]

I was a twig, pole-thin, with angel hair pasta tangled all over my head. It was snack time, the summer vacation of every kindergartener’s day. Two dozen five-year-olds with light-up sneakers dropped pencils from hands cramped with the brand new movement of writing A to Z. Lunch boxes sprang from their cubbyhole cages. The privileged […]

My mother—the biological mother, the glamorous and manipulative one—called last night. I had no choice but to answer to her inquiries, and commiserate with her mundane misfortunes. “He insists on carpet. That’s fertile breeding grounds for dust mites. He can vacuum it, because I didn’t want the carpet in the first place. Do you need […]

It is strange to think that a grown, sixteen-year-old girl still likes to play in the rain. I, however, have always been compelled to run outside just as the downpour begins. There is something special about drenching rains that I find fascinating. I love the smell just before the storm arrives. I love the foreboding […]

Beep. Beep. Beep. It is seven in the morning, December 14th 2020. I walk into the hospital in New York, reviewing my appointments for the day. I smile when I reach my office and see a plaque that says Emily Cookson Pediatric Neurosurgeon. My office is a warm yellow and decorated with crayon drawings, all […]

When I was younger, I wanted to be a ballerina horseback rider. Never mind the fact that I hated horses, or that I wasn’t exactly sure what being a ballerina horseback rider would entail. That was my first dream. Once I hit four or five, though, I moved on, attracted by the possibility of another […]

“Do you see the lake!” my mother said, trying to capture my attention. “Ahuh.” I see it. “When are we getting out?” “Don’t worry, we’re almost to your brother’s dorm.” Driving along Bradford beach, with my nine-year-old nose pressed up against the glass, my eyes followed the people, places and atmosphere. My level of interest […]

I’ve been sitting at my computer, staring at a blank Word document for fifteen minutes. Thinking. The acidic white is beginning to make my vision blur, rolling out over the computer monitor and across the desk, and I can’t seem to choose an uncomfortable memory. And not from lack of experience—as far as awkward situations […]

When I was little, I hated crayons. I prided myself on my superior fine motor skills. I always colored inside the lines, and cut paper perfectly along the thick black outlines even if I took twice as long. I always had neat, legible handwriting that all the other first graders envied (or so I thought). […]

“Don’t take your shoes off, Jonathan!” The little boy in front of me was squatting by the stairs, tugging at his sneaker. “If you want to go outside, you have to keep them on!” I went through this warning every day. He never seemed to grasp that when he came home, he had to leave […]