Wired | December 2024

"I kept coming across teens who were in distress about the way they had been created… People don’t always realize they are creating a human being and not a piece of furniture."

The Cut | December 2024

“In the age of gentle parenting, sharing itself, once the most basic playground skill, is now being called into question. Many believe that asking young children to step away from the slide is developmentally inappropriate, damaging to their mental health, and teaches a dangerous form of people-pleasing.”

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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.”

Slate asks Emi Nietfeld to weigh in on family jokes, a shocking pregnancy announcement, and listless fantasizing in their ‘Dear Prudence’ column.

Boulevard | 2019

Noted in The Best American Essays 2021, nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Winner of the Boulevard Emerging Writers Contest.

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.”

Fortune | November 2022

“Most people aren’t hustling to self-actualize. Most of us are hustling to survive.”

The Atlantic | March 2023

Intense work can be exhausting and burnout-inducing—and thrilling. Walking away isn’t so easy.

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.”

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.”

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.”

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.”