memoir | The Walrus

A photo of a woman working on various electronics

Society

Housebound and Bored? Turn Yourself into a Human Guinea Pig

March 22, 2021March 26, 2021 - by Bruce Grierson

During a time of endless lockdowns, self-discovery sometimes means self-experimentation

Illustration of a cluster of crumpled newspapers, out of which protrudes a person's arm and two legs. The background is blue and yellow checkers.

Memoir / September/October 2020

How Algorithms Are Changing What We Read Online

September 8, 2020January 4, 2021 - by Russell Smith

The AI of the internet determines what’s relevant. One day, it decided my work wasn’t

Illustration of a bear standing on its hind legs. It is wearing a muzzle on its head and its eyes are glowing. Behind it, a fire is burning against a dark night.

July/August 2020 / Memoir

Dancing Bear

June 18, 2020December 8, 2020 - by Dimitri Nasrallah

In this memoir, a child and his family leave Lebanon for Athens

A kaleidoscopic oil painting composed of green leaves and red flower petals.

First Person / Society

Taking Hallucinogens with My Mom

April 14, 2020April 16, 2020 - by Rachel Matlow

When my mother was diagnosed with cancer, she didn’t want chemo. Instead, she tried every other potion under the sun

A brown kitchen chair seated at a round table, covered in a yellow checked tablecloth. On the table are two glasses of wine, a slice of cake, and several face-down playing cards with the ace of spades facing up.

First Person / January/February 2020

How Euchre Healed My Family

December 12, 2019March 27, 2020 - by Jessica Myshrall

We have played through illness, arguments, divorces, and death

A blurred photo of an old-fashioned glass containing several cubes of ice and an amber liquid, against a black background.

Society

Seeing Myself in My Mother’s Addiction

December 10, 2019December 10, 2019 - by Helen Knott

In our struggles with sobriety, my mom and I were each other’s reflections

A woman's hands holding a picture of a saint.

Arts & Culture / November 2019

How a Seventh-Century Irish Princess Got Me Back On a Plane

November 1, 2019March 27, 2020 - by Anne Thériault

To overcome my fear of air travel, I turned to Saint Dymphna

Memoir / September 2019

The Truth about Wanting to Die

August 6, 2019June 12, 2020 - by Anna Mehler Paperny

Suicide is scary and messy and exhausting, Anna Mehler Paperny writes in her new book. And we need to be far more honest about it

First Person / May 2019

What I Learned From My Father’s Murder

April 22, 2019March 27, 2020 - by Jodi Singer

I used to think that good things happened to good people. Then my dad was killed

Books

The Stories We Tell About Our Fathers

May 22, 2018November 12, 2019 - by Harley Rustad

Bill Gaston’s new memoir examines his dad’s life—and our fears that we all become our parents