It was a great a place to grow up in the 80s. It is where I have all my childhood memories, where I met my husband, and where we go to...

One of the things I loved about my family was while there was lots of work, we always made time for leisure. Our weekends were full...

I’ve always heard people say that nothing good ever happens after midnight. For the longest time I found that to be true of my birth...

I grew up without a hometown. As the eldest child of an active duty military pilot, much of my childhood was spent moving from state to...

The sun flowing through the crack of the window was not able to warm up the icy cold that was invading me at every thought of my future...

While watching my mother work so hard, I wanted a better bargain at life, a new city and with new destiny. Nothing—I had decided—would...

Times in the southern US during the 1940s and 1950s were trying ones, indeed. We were poor. I guess you could say “dirt poor.” I remember...

However, one piece was always missing: my mother. She committed suicide when I was just eight months old, so everything I know about...

We’d break the rules, then run off and hide in the mango trees until the coast was clear–or so we thought. My mom would wait for us...

When I head out to my daily walk in the park, I like to remind myself of the poems I love the most, many of which I know by heart...

My birth parents, Katie and Taylor, were only 17 at the time, so, after staying with me for two nights, Taylor carried me from the...

My parents—my father especially—were very liberal for the society in which we lived. A retired army officer, my father was well-educated...

For as long as I can remember, all I desired was a simple life for my family, alone in the wilderness. This wasn’t without struggle...

Growing up, my parents encouraged me to pursue all the dreams I could think of. I remember my dad’s words that have always stayed...

I always looked up to him, though I must admit I played the part of an annoying little sister perfectly. He teased me mercilessly—not...

As with everything in life, we plan ahead, and things appear to be completely fail-safe. But sometimes the unexpected happens, and it...

My father refused to work because he believed if we had too much money, we would be damned, so my mother and I would cut dry wood to sell...

When I accepted myself as a lesbian, I was in my 30s, married to a man for 10 years, and had two children. It was the first time I had...

My grandma remembers coming over and noticing how pale and sickly I looked as a baby. She would ask my mom, “Aren’t you going to feed her...

My dad worked at IBM as a programmer and was a protective, caring, and loving man. My mom was a professional pianist and the choir...