First Person

Creative personal essays on life and family
Article July 27, 2022

Wartime Trauma Treatment

Reflections from a Therapist Treating Ukrainian Survivors

A therapist specializing in trauma treatment in the wake of human-made and natural disasters shares what she's seeing in her work with survivors of the war in... Read more

Article July 27, 2022

Cutting the Cord

A Psychoanalytic Approach to Getting Unstuck

According to psychoanalysis, we all carry an imago—an image of our parents inside of us. But what do you do when the negative, traumatic, or unconscious... Read more

Article July 13, 2022

The weight of whether to put a child in a group home. Read more

Article July 13, 2022

A Therapist Confronts Cancer

Finding a Way through the Abyss

No one can prevent the horrors of cancer, but processing this particular experience of loss with a therapist who's been through it may stave off the trauma of... Read more

Article July 8, 2022

Attachment Grief

Living with the Loss of a Child

For someone who has survived the death of their child, describing grief as a journey perpetuates the myth that, eventually, there’s an end point. Read more

Article May 22, 2022

Whose Mom Is It Anyway?

Learning to Love My Mother’s Caregiver

A daughter’s resentment gives way to a lesson in unconditional love. Read more

Article March 22, 2022

The Diary Keeper

A Father Discovers What Matters Most

As time rushes forward, a diary promises the chance to slow things down. Read more

Article January 7, 2022

Four Simple Ingredients

Lessons on Baking with Matthew

Four simple ingredients will become bread, whether you do everything right or not. The result may not be perfect, but it doesn’t have to be. Read more

Article January 7, 2022

Life Without Atticus

When Siblings Parent Each Other
Amanda Ann Gregory

Children need an adult who provides safety, attunement, empathy, acceptance, and boundaries. Can a sibling be the next best thing? Read more

Article November 11, 2021

Moving in Synchrony

The Collective Tug of Family

Sometimes the road to connection involves a painful separation. Read more

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