The Story Economy Blog

This is a story about the balance between soul, brain, and muscle. And how when they each do what they are good at, it makes anything seem doable. This spirit, mind, body balance is a pretty big deal in the world (having inspired a little thing called…

One of my goals as a writer is to sell an essay to the “Lives” column of the New York Times Magazine. If you haven’t read Lives, it’s the magazine’s backpage essay that tells a short personal story. (Here’s a great collection.) It’s not…

Something terrible goes on at my house, pretty much every day. It starts around 8:00 p.m., and winds down around 9:15. There is crying, agony, yelling, threats, frustration, and a feeling of helplessness. It’s bedtime with a three-year-old and a…

When my dad passed away two months ago, there was no way I wasn’t writing and delivering his eulogy. But still, how was I going to actually do it? Truthfully, I had been writing it in my head for so long that it wasn’t that much of a struggle…

Twenty-eight years ago, Stacy Burns made my life hell. I had just joined the gymnastics team at the local Y, and Stacy was a tomboy who liked to tease in a gruff, unfriendly way. At the time, I thought she was a bully—although now, of course, I see it…