Personal Essays & Op-Eds
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VHS Tapes of Death
Georgia Review | Summer 2024
“You have to learn to drive before you lose your nerve,” my mom announced when I was fifteen, fresh home from summer camp. Tuesday night, we sat at McDonald’s, feasting on the ninety-nine-cent Happy Meals special, with free refills, air conditioning, and Olympics without sound on the tvs.”
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The Queen Esther Theory of Gardening
Georgia Review | Summer 2024
“If they live, they live; If they die, they die!” my mom declared when passers-by admired her extensive hostas. I rolled my eyes. Inside our duplex, narrow paths snaked through piles of teetering detritus. Scraped out peanut butter jars overflowed the clawfoot tub.”
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'Troubled’ is a mystifying book about elite hypocrisy
Washington Post | February 2024
Rob Henderson’s memoir argues that the upper classes support social justice causes to improve their own status at the expense of those below them.
Recent Essays
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Exercise Was the Perfect Coping Mechanism, Until It Wasn’t
New York Times | August 2022
“Hacking at myself was simple self-harm, with no bright side, and so it had been comparatively easy for me to stop. Quitting overexercising was more difficult because it was praised instead of pathologized.”
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I Edited Mental Illness out of my college applications. I'm not Alone
New York Times | December 2022
The same crisis that leads to an outpouring of support for a wealthy child might cause a foster youth to be sent to a locked facility, prescribed antipsychotics and forced to change schools.
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'Troubled’ is a mystifying book about elite hypocrisy
Washington Post | February 2024
Rob Henderson’s memoir argues that the upper classes support social justice causes to improve their own status at the expense of those below them.
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The Queen Esther Theory of Gardening
Georgia Review | Summer 2024
“If they live, they live; If they die, they die!” my mom declared when passers-by admired her extensive hostas. I rolled my eyes. Inside our duplex, narrow paths snaked through piles of teetering detritus. Scraped out peanut butter jars overflowed the clawfoot tub.”
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The Problem of the Orphan Plot
The Nation | July 2023
The child welfare system has served as a convenient narrative device for novels, podcasts, and the like. A new book interrogates what we think we know about foster care.
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As a poor kid I was ashamed of my mom’s shabby gifts. Now I get it.
Washington Post | December 2023
“As far back as I can remember, Target’s clearance section was my mom’s happy place, especially after a bitter custody battle that left her a single parent, saddled with health problems, debt and an angry adolescent.”
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Help! I Wrote to Prudie for Advice and Emi Nietfeld Answered.
Slate asks Emi Nietfeld to weigh in on family jokes, a shocking pregnancy announcement, and listless fantasizing in their ‘Dear Prudence’ column.
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My Mom Claims I Had A Drink With My Rapist. I Investigate.
Boulevard | 2019
Noted in The Best American Essays 2021, nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Winner of the Boulevard Emerging Writers Contest.
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Self Portrait As a Human Interest Story
Longreads | December 2019
“If you’ve read a newspaper, you know me: I was the high school senior who overcame unbelievable odds to win swell prizes.”
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The Problem With Quiet Quitting
Fortune | November 2022
“Most people aren’t hustling to self-actualize. Most of us are hustling to survive.”
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There's a good chance you'll regret quitting your job
The Atlantic | March 2023
Intense work can be exhausting and burnout-inducing—and thrilling. Walking away isn’t so easy.
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I Couldn't Distill My Trauma Into A College Essay
Teen Vogue | February 2023
“During the time I was applying to colleges, I lay awake nights, terrified no one would believe my story. If I messed up any aspect, I was sure I’d face scrutiny and punishment.”
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Infra Dig
The Rumpus | February 2020
“One month after I graduated high school, I was raped. Three weeks later, I was on my hands and knees in Northern England excavating Roman ruins.”
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My Teeth Grinding Changed the Shape of My Face
VICE | August 2018
“Botox could potentially treat both my bruxism and the underlying trauma that may have caused it—so I gave it a try.”
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VHS Tapes of Death
Georgia Review | Summer 2024
“You have to learn to drive before you lose your nerve,” my mom announced when I was fifteen, fresh home from summer camp. Tuesday night, we sat at McDonald’s, feasting on the ninety-nine-cent Happy Meals special, with free refills, air conditioning, and Olympics without sound on the tvs.”