Personal Narrative Archives - Electric Literature

I Had a Neighbor Whose Husband Constantly Shouted

She moved through her days as though he was background in her story

May 28 - Neela Vaswani

Personal Narrative

A Beloved Teacher’s Casual Homophobia Still Hurts

I want to believe she wasn’t being cruel, but on some level, she felt this kind of hatred was trivial or acceptable

May 21 - Hugh Ryan

Personal Narrative

The Neighbor Who Stalked Me

I felt hunted by him, but legally, his routine was treated as a hobby, like birdwatching

May 14 - Faith Palermo

Personal Narrative

I Wasn’t Excited for My Top Surgery. That Doesn’t Negate My Desire for It

Expansion doesn’t have to be sure or aware of itself

May 7 - Billy Lezra

Personal Narrative

The Decisions Affecting My Body Were Always Made By Someone Else

I only wanted to be asked how I felt, how I wanted to approach my treatment

Apr 30 - Aleina Grace Edwards

Personal Narrative

My Mother Lived and Died in a Polluted Ecotone

I don’t know if unseen toxicities caused her cancer, but I can’t pull myself away from the question

Apr 23 - Sarah Giragosian

Personal Narrative

Observations from Inside Immigration Court

ICE regularly detains people in these very hallways, often violently separating children from their parents

Apr 16 - Laurie Lathem

Personal Narrative

We Were Too Young to Understand What Happened With the Man in the White Van

The moment changed us without our understanding why

Apr 9 - Angela Pelster

Personal Narrative

What Was Lost When My Daughter Gained Sound

Before my daughter’s surgery, I wanted to make the right choice

Apr 2 - Christie Chapman

Personal Narrative

Instructions for Repairing a Robot Black Boy

For my whole life, people have seemed too fleshy. I don’t understand how they can feel so deeply

Mar 26 - Martheaus Perkins

Personal Narrative

I Can’t Make Narrative Sense of My Mother Losing Her Memory

How do I make it into story, this unraveling mind, while I’m still disappearing in front of it?

Mar 19 - Veronica Vo

Personal Narrative

I Was Never the Kind of Indian Girl That Indian Guys Liked

We were giddy with our luck at having found each other after years of meeting people who weren’t right

Mar 12 - Kalpana Narayanan

Personal Narrative

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essays

I Had a Neighbor Whose Husband Constantly Shouted

A Beloved Teacher’s Casual Homophobia Still Hurts

The Neighbor Who Stalked Me

I Wasn’t Excited for My Top Surgery. That Doesn’t Negate My Desire for It

The Decisions Affecting My Body Were Always Made By Someone Else

My Mother Lived and Died in a Polluted Ecotone

Observations from Inside Immigration Court

We Were Too Young to Understand What Happened With the Man in the White Van

What Was Lost When My Daughter Gained Sound

Instructions for Repairing a Robot Black Boy

I Can’t Make Narrative Sense of My Mother Losing Her Memory

I Was Never the Kind of Indian Girl That Indian Guys Liked

I Had a Neighbor Whose Husband Constantly Shouted

A Beloved Teacher’s Casual Homophobia Still Hurts

The Neighbor Who Stalked Me

I Wasn’t Excited for My Top Surgery. That Doesn’t Negate My Desire for It

The Decisions Affecting My Body Were Always Made By Someone Else

My Mother Lived and Died in a Polluted Ecotone

Observations from Inside Immigration Court

We Were Too Young to Understand What Happened With the Man in the White Van

What Was Lost When My Daughter Gained Sound

Instructions for Repairing a Robot Black Boy

I Can’t Make Narrative Sense of My Mother Losing Her Memory

I Was Never the Kind of Indian Girl That Indian Guys Liked

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