https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories daily 0.75 2024-07-07 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/american-pandemic monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1592421143334-8MB6IPNZ8KGDFVE3AMRZ/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - American Pandemic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1592421593283-VYQ861VDVJ7D5SIZHTVT/Authorphoto2.jpg All Pieces - American Pandemic - Victoria Crowe is a writer and editor of You Might Need To Hear This. Originally from Queens, NY, she studied creative writing in San Francisco and has since moved to Los Angeles. She writes both fiction and nonfiction and finds her poetry is usually decent after a bottle of wine. Her work has been published in Harness Magazine, Herstry Blog, and District Lit. She is currently finishing up her second novel and afterwards plans to start her first. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/8-things-it-is-hard-to-admit-as-a-woman monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1593742545789-UZOL16V54561HTJ8IDR3/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - 8 things it is hard to admit as a woman https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1593806978294-D1V0I5LUGZC8E1B3E0BD/MeShoot.jpg All Pieces - 8 things it is hard to admit as a woman - Kay is a San Francisco resident DIY girl. Her creative streak runs through many mediums. When she is not writing or crafting custom furniture, she is making music or Etch-a-Sketch art. She hopes to one day write comedy in Hollywood or New York, but for now she just makes memes. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/those-four-little-words monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1593581938262-Y4PTPIOW5G58LLCBCIG4/jewel.jpg All Pieces - those four little words - A New York City native, Jewel credits her work ethic, motivation, and drive to her surroundings. Being raised in a no-nonsense Christian family also contributed to her success and disdain for mediocrity. Becoming a single mom at 16 years old wasn’t in the plan, but it was definitely in the cards. Now, at 24 years old, Jewel is a happy self-proclaimed ‘Mama Wolf’ to her children, Gemma (7) & Luke (3). Jewel is a self-help, motivation, and travel writer with credits from various online publications. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1593580483361-Q046B5950CKUXNFVOX4U/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - those four little words https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/ay-paison-lets-dismantle-white-supremacy monthly 0.5 2021-10-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1593813477724-83OEJLIBL5OISCBO7GHI/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Ay, paison, let’s dismantle white supremacy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1593812487170-XLDN62G9386KD9N2ZS0T/Stefania+with+pizza+in+Naples.jpg All Pieces - Ay, paison, let’s dismantle white supremacy - Stefania D'Andrea is a prose and comedy writer from Queens, NY. She is one of the original staff readers for the literary magazine Cagibi, where she edits and reviews works of fiction and non-fiction. Her first short story, In Her Head, is published in the 12th issue of Newtown Literary. Many of her comedy sketches have been performed at the People's Improv Theatre (PIT) in New York City in 2018 and 2019. Stefania received her B.A. in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing, from the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Hunter in 2017. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/bjycjixppepx8g52m1ijm63de72lwq monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1593744141999-449VVMFS2RX2ENTH491H/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - a letter about black women https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-loudest-silent-protest monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1593578917964-NMOYHYNQ24C6F96CNLL5/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - the loudest silent protest https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/an-update-from-portland monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1597278575017-ZHHHQ445Y3M7PLSLG5VP/IMG_1848.JPG All Pieces - An update from portland - Jay is a writer, editor, and tutor living in Portland, Oregon. He is a court-appointed advocate for youth in foster care and is currently pursuing his master’s degree in Social Work. In his free time, Jay enjoys walking his dog and riding his bike https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1597278502738-G11L5JDX8IA8RC1QKB4G/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - An update from portland https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/dear-2020 monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1601526670283-VYLYKYMTZQU4YNSZ16CE/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - a letter to 2020 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/why-la-drive-like-that monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1601498911263-5LHPSKYL08DRH1K64YZ9/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Why LA Drive Like That? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1601534031529-7TCSV2BV47LJK9D5N6WA/unnamed+%281%29.jpg All Pieces - Why LA Drive Like That? - Tyicia, (AKA Ty), entertainer, counselor, writer/ publisher and life enthusiast has her own remarkable way of connecting to different audiences thoughts, moods and inner desires in search of truth and understanding. From her joy in teaching and being a life coach to bringing intellectual reasoning and concept to things that matter most within todays society, theres no wonder why writing and blogging became second nature. Starting in her 20’s, Ty became more in tune with writing blogs the more she discovered her voice and pen is impactful and has a significant place in todays society. She is bold, confident and not afraid to shed light on even the most sensitive topics. Tyicia speaks from experience and learned observation within her life, relationships, and living in todays society. Writing is a way for her to shed light, awareness, and offer solution on all topics that impact life as we know it. If you are confident, seek understanding, and have no boundaries, Ty’s writing is just right for you. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/wap-its-political-obviously monthly 0.5 2021-07-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1601533487473-7T2P4JQV248BIVASZ8U4/MeShoot.jpg All Pieces - WAP: It’s political, obviously - Kay is a Los Angeles resident DIY girl. Her creative streak runs through many mediums. When she is not writing or crafting custom furniture, she is making music or Etch-a-Sketch art. She hopes to one day write comedy in Hollywood or New York, but for now she just makes memes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1601531363839-V7AWFWJYK328MDV42FRB/Screen+Shot+2020-09-01+at+2.43.31+PM.png All Pieces - WAP: It’s political, obviously Their problem can’t be with the word because the song has been censored to smithereens, on radio and Youtube. The problem can’t be with a woman being sexually explicit to commodify her attractiveness, just watch any music video for Madison Beer! Art and media has been selling sexy women since the dawn of time! Quite literally, the oldest known piece of art was a small statue of the female form, The Venus of Willendorf. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1601526352311-ZDR7N71NPSXPJ2FLSQAD/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - WAP: It’s political, obviously https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/they-all-swim-naked monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1601510535994-F4TZBYTZM742LW9G0QTF/IMG-4167.jpg All Pieces - They all swim naked https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1601510592247-3BQ2SDXFD3CQLFD8SKBP/V.jpg All Pieces - They all swim naked - Victoria Crowe is a writer and editor of You Might Need To Hear This. Originally from Queens, NY, she studied creative writing in San Francisco and has since moved to Los Angeles. She writes both fiction and nonfiction and finds her poetry is usually decent after a bottle of wine. Her work has been published in Harness Magazine, Herstry Blog, and District Lit. She is currently finishing up her second novel and afterwards plans to start her first. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-dating-app monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1601533701312-3ANXM1805IU44JXFYZMV/IMG_5967.jpg All Pieces - The dating app you didn’t know you signed up for - Michelle Barrera is a New York transplant now residing in Los Angeles. Growing up in a fast-paced and diverse environment, she has naturally always gravitated to all forms of creative and human expression - whether it's music, art, or writing. When she's not working in the fashion & beauty field, she is most likely singing at home and hanging with her cat Tequila. Say hi if you want at: https://www.instagram.com/michllbarr/ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1601528176097-1SNJ31SNNH8DNAW92NRA/datingappcover-B.jpg All Pieces - The dating app you didn’t know you signed up for https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-false-promise-of-all-inclusive-love monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1601499216959-XOUQ6ICLIAKL45ZXB5G8/Stefania+with+pizza+in+Naples.jpg All Pieces - The False Promise of All-Inclusive Love - Stefania D'Andrea is a prose and comedy writer from Queens, NY. She is one of the original staff readers for the literary magazine Cagibi, where she edits and reviews works of fiction and non-fiction. Her first short story, In Her Head, is published in the 12th issue of Newtown Literary. Many of her comedy sketches have been performed at the People's Improv Theatre (PIT) in New York City in 2018 and 2019. Stefania received her B.A. in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing, from the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Hunter in 2017. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1601506748548-U67QY6IDRQAI7QF89NZ8/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - The False Promise of All-Inclusive Love https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/sleepless-in-sanity monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1604313493757-E2P8ELGB8I0PQX98VQ1Y/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Sleepless in sanity https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1604312850535-DZPS3C13ZP0XGX9SHX8F/Stefania+with+pizza+in+Naples.jpg All Pieces - Sleepless in sanity - Stefania D'Andrea is a prose and comedy writer from Queens, NY. She is one of the original staff readers for the literary magazine Cagibi, where she edits and reviews works of fiction and non-fiction. Her first short story, In Her Head, is published in the 12th issue of Newtown Literary. Many of her comedy sketches have been performed at the People's Improv Theatre (PIT) in New York City in 2018 and 2019. Stefania received her B.A. in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing, from the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Hunter in 2017. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/have-you-seen-antebellum monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1604314054784-QKBAE93LOKQS2YZ5RAD2/TY.jpg All Pieces - have you seen antebellum yet? - Tyicia, (AKA Ty), entertainer, counselor, writer/ publisher and life enthusiast has her own remarkable way of connecting to different audiences thoughts, moods and inner desires in search of truth and understanding. From her joy in teaching and being a life coach to bringing intellectual reasoning and concept to things that matter most within todays society, theres no wonder why writing and blogging became second nature. Starting in her 20’s, Ty became more in tune with writing blogs the more she discovered her voice and pen is impactful and has a significant place in todays society. She is bold, confident and not afraid to shed light on even the most sensitive topics. Tyicia speaks from experience and learned observation within her life, relationships, and living in todays society. Writing is a way for her to shed light, awareness, and offer solution on all topics that impact life as we know it. If you are confident, seek understanding, and have no boundaries, Ty’s writing is just right for you. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1604314199278-UCO083WL4HODKL6JEEYI/image.2.png All Pieces - have you seen antebellum yet? https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-naivete monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1604312353077-NZ2YL69D1MVZC1A4XEPJ/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - What we talk about when we talk about naiveté https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1604312406432-05ZVVEHU04QCRKHZKKTC/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - What we talk about when we talk about naiveté - Victoria Crowe is a writer and editor of You Might Need To Hear This. Originally from Queens, NY, she studied creative writing in San Francisco and has since moved to Los Angeles. She writes both fiction and nonfiction and finds her poetry is usually decent after a bottle of wine. Her work has been published in Harness Magazine, Herstry Blog, and District Lit. She is currently finishing up her second novel and afterwards plans to start her first. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/october-debates-spook-us monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1604315517497-GOLX5IBW6Y43LDCD833F/MeShoot.jpg All Pieces - october debates spook the u.S. - Kay is a Los Angeles resident DIY girl. Her creative streak runs through many mediums. When she is not writing or crafting custom furniture, she is making music or Etch-a-Sketch art. She hopes to one day write comedy in Hollywood or New York, but for now she just makes memes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1604319652022-DNLOI14R9HUALM4GASGA/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - october debates spook the u.S. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/voting-season-thoughts monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1604315299389-E0J9C8N2APTKD5LM31I9/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - voting season thoughts https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/transactional-love monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606771498987-FFVQP3MTZCFPUO7ZZK4J/jessv.jpg All Pieces - TransactioNal love - Jessica is a follower of Christ and a multifaceted creative that uses her passion for writing to communicate her unique world view. Although she is currently a barista and server by trade, she hopes to one day publish a book and work in the music industry as a song writer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606806586851-AIG3RCB90I302ELFH1RM/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - TransactioNal love https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/feeling-stuffed monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606783247186-WIVJI6GW00J0XZJCHDYR/TY.jpg All Pieces - Feeling Stuffed - Tyicia, (AKA Ty), entertainer, counselor, writer/ publisher and life enthusiast has her own remarkable way of connecting to different audiences thoughts, moods and inner desires in search of truth and understanding. From her joy in teaching and being a life coach to bringing intellectual reasoning and concept to things that matter most within todays society, theres no wonder why writing and blogging became second nature. Starting in her 20’s, Ty became more in tune with writing blogs the more she discovered her voice and pen is impactful and has a significant place in todays society. She is bold, confident and not afraid to shed light on even the most sensitive topics. Tyicia speaks from experience and learned observation within her life, relationships, and living in todays society. Writing is a way for her to shed light, awareness, and offer solution on all topics that impact life as we know it. If you are confident, seek understanding, and have no boundaries, Ty’s writing is just right for you. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606808969973-AFDLX1IRCGW0LUQ4I57F/IMG-6244.jpg All Pieces - Feeling Stuffed https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/your-name-on-the-wall monthly 0.5 2022-11-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606811568944-M9FFLDGHRX0IEDO52A9A/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - your name written on tHe wall https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606811701419-XC5HMD9V2B26Y64I8J1D/victoria.jpg All Pieces - your name written on tHe wall - Victoria Crowe is a writer and editor of You Might Need To Hear This. Originally from Queens, NY, she studied creative writing in San Francisco and has since moved to Los Angeles. She writes both fiction and nonfiction and finds her poetry is usually decent after a bottle of wine. Her work has been published in Harness Magazine, Herstry Blog, and District Lit. She is currently finishing up her second novel and afterwards plans to start her first. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/incels-violent-misogyny-in-sheeps-clothing monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606787213099-XWR9T8WS32INXE7MCJPZ/Stefania+with+pizza+in+Naples.jpg All Pieces - Incels: Violent Misogyny in Sheep’s Clothing - Stefania D'Andrea is a prose and comedy writer from Queens, NY. She is one of the original staff readers for the literary magazine Cagibi, where she edits and reviews works of fiction and non-fiction. Her first short story, In Her Head, is published in the 12th issue of Newtown Literary. Many of her comedy sketches have been performed at the People's Improv Theatre (PIT) in New York City in 2018 and 2019. Stefania received her B.A. in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing, from the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Hunter in 2017. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606808447023-2FDI3MPOWQFX24E7J2DG/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Incels: Violent Misogyny in Sheep’s Clothing https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/growth-writes-the-story monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606770943311-VWGEY2K4QEDM64CWTXTI/jewel.jpg All Pieces - The Growth Writes The Story - A New York City native, Jewel credits her work ethic, motivation, and drive to her surroundings. Being raised in a no-nonsense Christian family also contributed to her success and disdain for mediocrity. Becoming a single mom at 16 years old wasn’t in the plan, but it was definitely in the cards. Now, at 24 years old, Jewel is a happy self-proclaimed ‘Mama Wolf’ to her children, Gemma (7) & Luke (3). Jewel is a self-help, motivation, and travel writer with credits from various online publications. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606771102733-Z1RVDNZN3IT8SGA8LM8D/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - The Growth Writes The Story https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-word-on-healing monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606773508048-6LW8YTEFRL0GLSBEKNM2/Mack.jpg All Pieces - Three Things Your Younger Self Needs to Hear - Mackenzie Hunt is a writer and lover of all things honest and raw. She is an artist. A mother to many plants. A friend. A therapist to the sweetest kiddos. A partner. A 24 year old girl just trying to make it through one week of Los Angeles traffic without crying. You will likely find her with her face buried in a book or dancing around her apartment with red wine in hand. Her debut collection of poetry, The Becoming, was published in 2018 and is available on Amazon. Check her out at www.instagram.com/mackenziehuntpoetry :-) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606783820725-ZNJE2IRMM6PDK9DNQ9MD/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Three Things Your Younger Self Needs to Hear https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/sleep-paralysis monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606773005239-HWXP5R4DU0LHLCRCW2KS/jessv.jpg All Pieces - Sleep paralysis - Jessica is a follower of Christ and a multifaceted creative that uses her passion for writing to communicate her unique world view. Although she is currently a barista and server by trade, she hopes to one day publish a book and work in the music industry as a song writer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606806821636-ZI3WNDDO1CM4JL1Y915K/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Sleep paralysis https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/gentlemen-prefer-breadwinners monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606869336574-9A7GB7PYIHXA5A9ATJRK/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Gentlemen Prefer Breadwinners https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1606864849946-E26YQBMRL5ZKFQFJPS03/Kay.jpg All Pieces - Gentlemen Prefer Breadwinners - Kay is a Los Angeles resident DIY girl. Her creative streak runs through many mediums. When she is not writing or crafting custom furniture, she is making music or Etch-a-Sketch art. She hopes to one day write comedy in Hollywood or New York, but for now she just makes memes. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/american-seeds monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1609476568065-6L455J7U0IPALGJH41N7/jessv.jpg All Pieces - american seeds - Jessica is a follower of Christ and a multifaceted creative that uses her passion for writing to communicate her unique world view. Although she is currently a barista and server by trade, she hopes to one day publish a book and work in the music industry as a song writer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1609478881895-9WZ2YTVYHZVFAQZ332JK/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - american seeds https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/9-painfully-realistic-new-years-resolutions monthly 0.5 2021-07-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1609478276788-8DX1HZT33KUBVX457QZ8/Kay.jpg All Pieces - 9 painfully realistic new years resolutions - Kay is a Los Angeles resident DIY girl. Her creative streak runs through many mediums. When she is not writing or crafting custom furniture, she is making music or Etch-a-Sketch art. She hopes to one day write comedy in Hollywood or New York, but for now she just makes memes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1609480000207-X911VWZHCZUZ1EK8GLNE/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - 9 painfully realistic new years resolutions https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-year-in-review monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1609479063634-JRZMHYE8QO9XR3AOALMK/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - A Year In Review https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1609476907256-RWR4377OYD76YAMQLFYN/Stefania.jpg All Pieces - A Year In Review - Stefania D'Andrea is a prose and comedy writer from Queens, NY. She is one of the original staff readers for the literary magazine Cagibi, where she edits and reviews works of fiction and non-fiction. Her first short story, In Her Head, is published in the 12th issue of Newtown Literary. Many of her comedy sketches have been performed at the People's Improv Theatre (PIT) in New York City in 2018 and 2019. Stefania received her B.A. in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing, from the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Hunter in 2017. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/under-the-sea-theres-anxiety monthly 0.5 2021-07-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1609477610226-52DKUSLHNIH66L80S88L/Kay.jpg All Pieces - Under the sea, there’s anxiety - Kay is a Los Angeles resident DIY girl. Her creative streak runs through many mediums. When she is not writing or crafting custom furniture, she is making music or Etch-a-Sketch art. She hopes to one day write comedy in Hollywood or New York, but for now she just makes memes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1609479439635-9HOYPWPIBV84UI9CGJW2/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Under the sea, there’s anxiety https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/2021-grant-me-the-serenity monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1609480285981-ZZQUKTBL95EG13Q4LJ8C/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - 2021 grant me the serenity https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1609478744684-SZWFONONS98TST0QPUOW/victoria.jpg All Pieces - 2021 grant me the serenity - Victoria Crowe is a writer, editor and founder of You Might Need To Hear This. Originally from Queens, NY, she studied creative writing in San Francisco and has since moved to Los Angeles. She writes both fiction and nonfiction and finds her poetry is usually decent after a bottle of wine. Her work has been published in Harness Magazine, Herstry Blog, and District Lit. She is currently finishing up her second novel and afterwards plans to start her first. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/calling-all-white-girls monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1611958629390-53JOBZQIX08J60QRWPWC/Stefania.jpg All Pieces - calling all white girls - Stefania D'Andrea is a prose and comedy writer from Queens, NY. She is one of the original staff readers for the literary magazine Cagibi, where she edits and reviews works of fiction and non-fiction. Her first short story, In Her Head, is published in the 12th issue of Newtown Literary. Many of her comedy sketches have been performed at the People's Improv Theatre (PIT) in New York City in 2018 and 2019. Stefania received her B.A. in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing, from the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Hunter in 2017. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1611958575310-Q0N8NZZYSATHY40ERDBK/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - calling all white girls https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/lady-of-the-night monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1611962506436-6QV6E4XZAUU0HWNUTMIW/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - lady of the night - She’s only pretty in the dark. When the lights are off you see her soul and how abuse took its toll. You close your eyes and you see her beauty. You see how the pain shaped her mind but it’s as if it’s divinely designed. You open your eyes and try to turn on the lights. You’ve touched every shadow there is to pursue but let me remind you, she’s only pretty in the dark. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1611962169716-O84FCN2KP74U6F6KNQ6G/jessv.jpg All Pieces - lady of the night - Jessica is a follower of Christ and a multifaceted creative that uses her passion for writing to communicate her unique world view. Although she is currently a barista and server by trade, she hopes to one day publish a book and work in the music industry as a song writer. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-year-of-consistency monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1611968481785-CXSUKNRTYXFNF2DVDOQV/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - the year of consistency https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/days-of-dormancy monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1612048753456-9U56QVS467T98W057AK4/Authorphoto.jpg All Pieces - days of dormancy - Victoria Crowe is a writer, editor and founder of You Might Need To Hear This. Originally from Queens, NY, she studied creative writing in San Francisco and has since moved to Los Angeles. She writes both fiction and nonfiction and finds her poetry is usually decent after a bottle of wine. Her work has been published in Harness Magazine, Herstry Blog, and District Lit. She is currently finishing up her second novel and afterwards plans to start her first. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1612048867913-ZF4SOTFBSVTQFCOTY99P/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - days of dormancy https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/another-case-for-christ monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1611965691905-B2AQ27HESQK3GWXJWP3S/jessv.jpg All Pieces - Another case for christ - Jessica is a follower of Christ and a multifaceted creative that uses her passion for writing to communicate her unique world view. Although she is currently a barista and server by trade, she hopes to one day publish a book and work in the music industry as a song writer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1611965872332-YYJW7JJW5JHJQUTKORD2/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Another case for christ https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/crawl-failed-routine monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1611963371371-MP3UJG9EOHBLY9EPYGUR/Michelle.jpg All Pieces - “Crawl” & “Failed Routine” - Michelle Barrera is a New York transplant now residing in Los Angeles. Growing up in a fast-paced and diverse environment, she has naturally always gravitated to all forms of creative and human expression - whether it's music, art, or writing. When she's not working in the fashion & beauty field, she is most likely singing at home and hanging with her cat, Tequila. Say hi if you want at: https://www.instagram.com/michllbarr/ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1612049475483-9C48ABOFXEJANGY7021G/IMG-8360.jpeg All Pieces - “Crawl” & “Failed Routine” everything i promised you it happened again. pencil touched notecards and words of grasslands everything you believed back then would only circle back and make you my friend when will you pause at the view that the very same problem is you -failed routine https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1612049928579-G99OPPA13UJKD7CQHWX7/image.jpg All Pieces - “Crawl” & “Failed Routine” crawl to me with broken thoughts and wounded mind on the 19th hour when the acknowledgement of existence is that of mine crawl to me after the bottle has dripped down the last ridge of her spine crawl knowing i would give you my legs so that you could walk one more time -crawl https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/veronica monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1612042670260-HEUY8YFCDQPG8M1PUOOV/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Verónica - She was created immaculate, Sculptured of clouds and constellations She’d be the manifestation as the physical embodiment of Oshun, Birthed through the tree of life Her divinity be the center of eternity The rising and falling of the sun she be the moon, The curator of my euphoria The light of the star that our world orbits couldn’t shine the sky the way she brightens up a room My goddess, my muse She be amazing like the way the earth blossoms, her melanin, her hue Mysterious like the night time sky, Such a celestial view https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1612039367193-KE7RB2RV3EEOJTHPAEE7/image0.jpeg All Pieces - Verónica - Set The Versifier is a poet from Inglewood. He is a griot telling his people’s story of blackness. He has a book published on Amazon titled, "H.E.R Heavens Epitome Realized. An Ode To Black Woman!” https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/its-a-party monthly 0.5 2021-07-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1612061187167-BVQ0IC2X9N4BDD0CSFRW/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - it’s a party https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1612060981974-YM2ZDGRUVJMZ9V8YUBN7/kayphoto.jpg All Pieces - it’s a party - Kay is a composer of stories, songs, and screenplays. This Los Angeles copywriter is a renaissance woman, classically trained with a cosmopolitan focus. She is a lifelong scrapbooker and has a knack for rendering images on an Etch-a-Sketch. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/say-onlyfans monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1614636615866-2QUNQXO0D3YWBHR3HACH/Authorphoto.jpg All Pieces - Say, Onlyfans - Victoria Crowe is a writer, editor and founder of You Might Need To Hear This. Originally from Queens, NY, she studied creative writing in San Francisco and has since moved to Los Angeles. She writes both fiction and nonfiction and finds her poetry is usually decent after a bottle of wine. Her work has been published in Harness Magazine, Herstry Blog, and District Lit. She is currently finishing up her second novel and afterwards plans to start her first. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1614635233542-HKJW2N2ONA8QW70KGZX5/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Say, Onlyfans https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/girl-power-is-real-power monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1614633682533-NYSCGBFBBXBX1MF8M9RM/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Girl Power Is Real Power https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1614633266417-FIE7N3B6J49G4OEZENO0/Stefania.jpg All Pieces - Girl Power Is Real Power - Stefania D'Andrea is a prose and comedy writer from Queens, NY. She is one of the original staff readers for the literary magazine Cagibi, where she edits and reviews works of fiction and non-fiction. Her first short story, In Her Head, is published in the 12th issue of Newtown Literary. Many of her comedy sketches have been performed at the People's Improv Theatre (PIT) in New York City in 2018 and 2019. Stefania received her B.A. in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing, from the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Hunter in 2017. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/cycles monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1614719936302-703IINZUF2AYCVKN9ZHT/ava-sol-OFTSDQDwsio-unsplash.jpg All Pieces - cycles https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1614635445830-C05GKNP5W0H4D72LXBHL/jessv.jpg All Pieces - cycles - Jessica is a follower of Christ and a multifaceted creative that uses her passion for writing to communicate her unique worldview. Although she is currently a barista and server by trade, she hopes to one day publish a book and work in the music industry as a songwriter. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/jk-rowling-and-the-changer-of-spirits monthly 0.5 2021-07-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1614671161471-ZRY0Y2KU5AYJ3OGP9U9U/Screen+Shot+2021-03-01+at+2.00.10+PM.png All Pieces - J.k. Rowling & the changer of spirits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1614670710714-840NME0R6IUML638C6U9/YMNTHT+Screensave.jpg All Pieces - J.k. Rowling & the changer of spirits https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1614669921742-J7W3YT0S3W1SS5K22LGS/kayphoto.jpg All Pieces - J.k. Rowling & the changer of spirits - Kay is a composer of stories, songs and screenplays. This Los Angeles copywriter is a renaissance woman, classically trained with a cosmopolitan focus. She is a lifelong scrapbooker and has a knack for rendering images on an Etch-a-sketch. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/invisible monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617236660722-N2T5RZIFLYHDCZYU5RXB/unsplash-image-l57A9zxd0XI.jpg All Pieces - Invisible I have never been understood, I have never felt seen. My experiences gave me all these pent up feelings. People have always said that I’m quiet and calm. I attribute it to chaos, it's all I’ve ever known. I lived a life where I wasn’t loved or protected, I’ve always been independent. My innocence was taken from me it’s hard to forget it. I never want anyone to feel how I’ve felt. To experience the pain I’ve been through. So I try with all my heart to see you, to protect you, to love you, to understand you, to be patient with you, to uplift you, I guess I became the person I needed the most. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617138367169-DDAX258YGEAZ8QZ33XHG/jessv.jpg All Pieces - Invisible - Jessica is a follower of Christ and a multifaceted creative that uses her passion for writing to communicate her unique worldview. Although she is currently a barista and server by trade, she hopes to one day publish a book and work in the music industry as a songwriter. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/black-girl-magic monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617236071040-BW1AEB08BQ13P8RBL4WW/unsplash-image-GSPFjHIx2tE.jpg All Pieces - Black Girl Magic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617140913935-1UKODDUW9PY987XW1ORS/image0.jpeg All Pieces - Black Girl Magic - Set The Versifier is a poet from Inglewood. He is a griot telling his people’s story of blackness. He has a book published on Amazon titled, "H.E.R Heavens Epitome Realized. An Ode To Black Woman!” https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/greatness monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617236230384-YT5O4KGBATWK57EDFGZL/unsplash-image-b9wsEM40Cv0.jpg All Pieces - Greatness It’s written in my conscious It’s stored in my heart And echoes in my spirit I hang on to this feeling Like a son hanging on to his father’s words The identity of my greatness has yet to be discovered I myself have not discovered it yet... I’m on a constant Odyssey A Journey that I can only take A journey that I only understand A journey that is mine Mine alone. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617139642675-E9134J8WSFPMPT2HK1IH/x.jpg All Pieces - Greatness - X is a writer based out of Central California. He draws inspiration from conversations with friends and his own personal experiences. His passion for writing stems from the need to change his thoughts into something tangible that can be felt and experienced. He strives to find new ways to tell his stories and the stories of others. He also aspires to show people that we are more alike than we are different. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/worth-home-base monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617311160961-LSI9TMUBH0OV6G1PGQTK/unsplash-image-v9sAFGJ3Ojk.jpg All Pieces - worth // home base - Home Base How is it that after all these baseball mitts with big holes in the middle All I can remember is the web of your palm, the feeling of suede leather lingers Olive juice tan lines stop just before their pale wrinkly bellies cinnamon sticks for fingers Nails always trimmed, but always dirty, unless that is, you planned on seeing me My hands got the closest look, they decided how tight to cling but It's not as if being a body makes you good at anatomy So we sweat too much, it beads up in my brows blinding me Why is it, that after all this time, it’s still your hands I see https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617311361556-D1GTSIXTSKNRBMISQRY5/ian-dooley-dEFkCKvnRIA-unsplash.jpg All Pieces - worth // home base - Worth I’ve been thinking a lot about worth It’s intrinsic to all things but intangible in nature Yet it can be weighed, it can be assessed It can be developed or it can be invested It can even appreciate, unless it depreciating It’s subjective, except for when it’s objective It can be claimed, or it can be bestowed But once branded that value will start to erode Are you trash or are you treasure If it’s treasure, it’s treated as such If it’s useless, past its purpose, We banish it to where it can't hurt us https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617227161414-3O53U00ACO5GW8YCCVHI/kayphoto.jpg All Pieces - worth // home base - Kay is a composer of stories, songs and screenplays. This Los Angeles copywriter is a renaissance woman, classically trained with a cosmopolitan focus. She is a lifelong scrapbooker and has a knack for rendering images on an Etch-a-sketch. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/libra-full-moon monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617236483906-OOPU9O9Z8U0OUCYTUAMU/unsplash-image-OMD_FpLeblQ.jpg All Pieces - Libra Full Moon She is knocking at the door You have seen her here before She used to come Maybe once a year Now, you cannot remember When she was not here You have this thing, She believes It has persisted In her dreams You open the door She begins to scream I have spent my whole life Admiring the Sea Only to realize She is me! And you Are her And now I know https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617139213629-DG2H7OIMRD9BPV5IFY2Z/Self+Photo.jpg All Pieces - Libra Full Moon - Inspired deeply by the divine mother, Brittany finds that her words come most effortlessly when life experiences are filtered through mother nature’s lens. Having been born into a military family, she spent her younger years changing environments until settling in Northern Virginia. Later in life, her career in the Air Force & Space Force brought her to California where mother nature began speaking to her through the Pacific Ocean. A now Veteran, Brittany bows deeply to the experiences that allowed truth to rise within her. Her words are her story, and her humble offering. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/old-friends monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617312761270-9CX0YKJIMYDDZOPZS2TA/unsplash-image-dHvlaagMvnk.jpg All Pieces - old friends I flirted with the idea of her before it was legal to put my lips to a coupe and crave the high of feeling numb. She was an old friend; he, an older one. He understood casual dependency while she demanded commitment. I became a fly on the wall with her, persistently imagined how different reality could be if he’d join me and alter it again. I feared she’d no longer want me if I strayed. Another secret I’d keep; a part of life I’d dread having to retell, revise, define. We lasted a little over 100 days. Silly and juvenile to count what seemed like a milestone between temporary and finite. He was what never stopped exciting me. Each time a new introduction to a person so familiar i’ve always tried to love. She was what kept me grounded and kept color in my face. She kept my vision at its clearest and left my footsteps stable. I chose him over her; candy over mystery, because I’ve always had a sweet tooth and tend to run from uncertainty. I’m not sad this one did not work out. I’d become worn and tired and needed new hands to twirl my strands of happiness. He stuck around and did the break up dance, she packed up and left. They are only the absence of each other and I await what her absence will bring. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617226545981-5K0NU4DAWA2NF4F6YE03/Authorphoto.jpg All Pieces - old friends - Victoria Crowe is a writer, editor and founder of You Might Need To Hear This. Originally from Queens, NY, she studied creative writing in San Francisco and has since moved to Los Angeles. She writes both fiction and nonfiction and finds her poetry is usually decent after a bottle of wine. Her work has been published in Harness Magazine, Herstry Blog, and District Lit. She is currently finishing up her second novel and afterwards plans to start her first. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/excerpts-from-the-becoming monthly 0.5 2021-06-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617234612673-XB91AMVVO5Z25RF5LWNB/unsplash-image-tIL1v1jSoaY.jpg All Pieces - excerpts from ‘the becoming’ forgive yourself for the strange men you let in your bed and in your head forgive yourself for drowning your organs in alcohol until they floated like loofahs forgive yourself for turning your heart to stone so no one could get in and you could not get out forgive yourself for harboring your childhood inside your chest and using it as an excuse to hurt people forgive yourself for looking for the love you needed to give yourself in everyone who is not you forgive yourself for still being angry for still being scared for still being in love you were surviving dear one still are https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617226955800-5R1VFXEZG5VL3AS83OVW/Mack.jpg All Pieces - excerpts from ‘the becoming’ - Mackenzie Hunt is a writer, artist, plant mama, and behavioral therapist just trying to make it one week in Los Angeles traffic without crying. You will likely find her with her face buried in a book or dancing around her apartment with red wine in hand. Her debut collection of poetry, The Becoming, was published in 2018 and can be found on Amazon. Check her out at www.instagram.com/mackenziehuntpoetry :-) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1617234394295-RHW1IZO2UYD0G5M13N2Q/unsplash-image-4r_tHA3gsUY.jpg All Pieces - excerpts from ‘the becoming’ i have a new stretch mark on my tummy that looks just like a constellation for days i rubbed coconut oil on it desperate for it to disappear then one night i walked outside and mother universe held me and asked why i am trying to rid of the stardust she sprinkled on me in congratulations for not being afraid to take up more space the stars cheered and i cried and we walked until night became dawn as she told me how we really are one after all https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-return-of-selectivism monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622513021198-NYGJ91BPV3DNENCGTS09/unsplash-image-QtGqxyiZcbo.jpg All Pieces - The Return of Selectivism Dude is running next to a moving vehicle, excruciatingly establishing diversity. Fifty-five in a thirty-five is not his only post postmodern residual, such as wearing that powder blue suit to appease his mother. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622512858900-37558SLZMLEIX23VWSFD/20150309_195918_resized-1.jpg All Pieces - The Return of Selectivism - Colin James has a couple of chapbooks of poetry published. “Dreams Of The Really Annoying” from Writing Knights Press, “A Thoroughness Not Deprived of Absurdity” from Piski's Porch Press and a book of poems, “Resisting Probability” from Sagging Meniscus Press. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/may-our-light-heal-our-hoods monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622512377923-5J5HCLGSB7O8W0KDTBZ7/Deziauthorphoto.jpg All Pieces - May Our Light heal our Hoods - Deziana Torres is a young and inspiring creative who was born and raised in the rough yet beautiful streets of East Oakland, CA. Although she is a newly graduate with her M.S.W, she is not new to speaking and fighting against the oppression existing in all hoods similar to hers. She is a board member of Hood Liberation. Deziana is a visionary, a story-teller, an artist, and a community healer who aims to help others discover that they too are lights in the midsts of their adversity. Find her on Instagram @confi_dez. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622508068011-NFO7OK7VUN8YAZHKR9K3/dezipic4.jpeg All Pieces - May Our Light heal our Hoods https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622509883239-5IMKWNZJNZLE6HXT6427/Screen+Shot+2021-05-31+at+6.10.58+PM.png All Pieces - May Our Light heal our Hoods https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622511503189-E5JWJEYM5REVNY3Z6LET/dezipic13.jpeg All Pieces - May Our Light heal our Hoods https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622151256260-K62ZXA2NFA8G7P6WP0A6/Deziphoto1.jpeg All Pieces - May Our Light heal our Hoods - Make it stand out *All images shot by Nadia Elhawary https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622159138823-L5K4Q6NNA1FWRM72UOXI/dezipic2.jpeg All Pieces - May Our Light heal our Hoods Who is Deziana Torres? I am a courageous daughter to Carmen Castaner (Mama Carmen) and Raul Torres. Two strong individuals who brought me into this world as teen parents; sacrificing their youth in order to cater to my growth. Mama Carmen’s roots connect to the tropical and colonized land of Puerto-Rico where our family members were a mixture of Taino Indigenous Peoples and others were slaves themselves during and after slavery. The slaves in my family were the descendants from the Congo and Western Bantu Peoples who were forced over during the slave trade. In addition, my father, whose roots I am still currently learning, connects to the Cora Tribe in Mexico with some unconfirmed mixtures of Filipino (still have to explore this more). So here is a little about the blood that rests within me for I am a mixture of many beautiful yet oppressed groups. A combination of generational trauma and privilege, as I have more access towards liberation than my ancestors did. This is critical in understanding because if you can understand the brutal history of oppression my family has faced and continues to face, then you will understand why I move with so much intention. There’s more to my story though, it gets deeper. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622507102720-W2VQ5DTVV078GDK3AX2W/dezipic3.jpeg All Pieces - May Our Light heal our Hoods - My Upbringing I was born and raised in the rough yet beautiful streets of East Oakland, California (where the youngstas get hyphy) haha those who know, KNOW. In Oakland, I personally witnessed the lack of opportunities existing in my hood as well as the survival tactics our people are forced to engage in just to make it another day. Like man, we really out here scavenging for very little in order to survive and people act like we ain’t. For instance, growing up in a single parent household as the oldest played a major role in my character today. After my parent’s messy divorce, themes of domestic violence and trauma already began to wrap around me. With the absence of a parent in the household, my role was to be a second-caregiver, sacrificing my childhood to step up to a plate way bigger than me. At the young age of nine, I knew how to bathe my youngest three siblings, dress them, feed them, help with homework, and keep them safe from harm when Mama Carmen was away trying to“make a dollar out of $0.15.” How many of you understand this pressure? It’s a heavy one: learning to cater to others while normalizing putting yourself last, all to help your family survive. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622511774269-0UL7XGUDZ7VBB1H2KE7H/dezipic14.jpeg All Pieces - May Our Light heal our Hoods - Conclusion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622509144452-S2430DNAH0MUK9RO591G/Screen+Shot+2021-05-31+at+5.58.40+PM.png All Pieces - May Our Light heal our Hoods https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622510255220-RY6UCFIGNCCU75QLPI0I/dezipic11.jpeg All Pieces - May Our Light heal our Hoods School-To-Prison Pipeline I attended Fremont High School on High Street in East Oakland. A highschool where you walk through metal detectors and endure random pat downs/searches in order to enter campus in the morning. While I stood in line, I would gaze at the police cars parked in front of the campus. Their lights flashing brighter than the morning sunrise as the officers stood outside of their cars with their arms folded and eyes pierced on us. Ya know what it’s like to be watched like that all the time? Sometimes you’re left feeling like a criminal without being guilty of anything. Criminalizing and convincing us that we are those labels and more are tactics used, you feel me? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622508432854-4CCI50B3J9K2Y5ZXCUKQ/Screen+Shot+2021-05-31+at+5.46.37+PM.png All Pieces - May Our Light heal our Hoods https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622510874712-VO54DR39LGYZ0Y2RCQGP/dezipic12.jpeg All Pieces - May Our Light heal our Hoods Why is robbery high in our hoods? When you are raised in the streets, you learn to see that violent acts like robbery are often engaged in due to a lack of financial security. There isn't enough money for many of us to afford to keep roofs over our families’ heads with jobs that only pay enough to live check by check. What I’ve noticed is that some cases like robbery are never really personal; people are just hungry for the peace that comes after bills and rent are paid for. Tupac explained it in his song Changes. It reads, “My stomach hurts, so I’m looking for a purse to snatch.” It’s bigger than the material things, people are hungry. I can recall my friend in highschool, who is no longer living, (rest in Peace homie), telling me that he would rather sell drugs to help his single mother with bills rather than to pursue an education that would take so many years to access a career through. He looked at me and said, “How can I wait four years after college to find out how to feed my family when we are starving and facing eviction right now?” A question that forever challenged my perspective. Took me a while to reach this point though, as I learned to view these acts for what they truly are; a means of survival. I bring this up to help others from the outside looking in to see it from the perspective that is hardly analyzed behind some of the crimes committed. I wonder if we increase opportunities for success and financial stability, will crime decrease dramatically? https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/unsent monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622523499979-OITWND6AT258EZ1F5MUA/unsplash-image-r51YSDEijXs.jpg All Pieces - Unsent - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622521858981-6XZ0UUCL6PDJKFN2ZQT3/kayphoto.jpg All Pieces - Unsent - Kay is a composer of stories, songs and screenplays. This Los Angeles copywriter is a renaissance woman, classically trained with a cosmopolitan focus. She is a lifelong scrapbooker and has a knack for rendering images on an Etch-a-sketch. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/trans-non-binary-spotlight monthly 0.5 2021-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622516653630-94I7WMHKZWOXSBT9Q0IL/Amethyst.jpg All Pieces - Spotlight: Trans and Non-Binary Empowerment and Joy Name: Amethyst Barron Pronouns: They/them Gender identities: trans, gender non-conforming, non-binary Sexual orientation, race, disabilities: Bisexual, white, mad, neurodivergent, and disabled. Covid long-hauler. Location and professions: Toronto-based stand-up comedian, writer, producer, and emerging make-up artist/YouTuber. Social media: @AmethystBarronComedy on Instagram, @BarronAmethyst on Twitter, @MxMakeupWitch on Instagram & Twitter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622516538010-0KYYYAYVHHR3V0QK3A30/Nik.jpg All Pieces - Spotlight: Trans and Non-Binary Empowerment and Joy Name: Nika Lomazzo Pronouns: She/Her Gender identity: Transsexual Woman Location and professions: NYC-based comedian, writer, and sex worker Social media: @NikaLomazzo on Twitter and Instagram Consistent project: Best Mistakes Podcast (Apple, iTunes, Spotify) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622516887464-W6A61LJIWWILYOWJO3SQ/Andie.jpg All Pieces - Spotlight: Trans and Non-Binary Empowerment and Joy Name: Andie Basto Pronouns: they/she Gender identity: Nonbinary Sexual orientation, race: Bisexual, Latine Location and professions: Baltimore-based comedian, writer, and producer Social media: @AndieIsOnline on Instagram & Twitter Email: bookingandie@gmail.com Upcoming project: Relax Rewatch Rewind podcast on Anchor begins Monday, June 7th https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622516613980-21SWL5PCEUSEPJ5YSXAY/Tori.jpg All Pieces - Spotlight: Trans and Non-Binary Empowerment and Joy Name: Tori Ashley Matos Pronouns: they/she/he Gender identity: Non-binary Race, sexual orientation: Afro-Indigenous & Pansexual Location and professions: NYC-based actor and writer Social media and website: @ToriAshleyMatos on Instagram; toriashleymatos.com Upcoming projects: Starring in Flying Lessons and will have a featured position in Curlew Quarterly in June; links available on toriashleymatos.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622516984391-M8MZIBEM2IVQ60KE2ZR2/Stefania.jpg All Pieces - Spotlight: Trans and Non-Binary Empowerment and Joy - Stefania D'Andrea is a prose and comedy writer from Queens, NY. She is one of the original staff readers for the literary magazine Cagibi, where she edits and reviews works of fiction and non-fiction. Her first short story, In Her Head, is published in the 12th issue of Newtown Literary. Many of her comedy sketches have been performed at the People's Improv Theatre (PIT) in New York City in 2018 and 2019. Stefania received her B.A. in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing, from the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Hunter in 2017. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622513420288-ONV5JRC5I2IGLT3LU89Q/unsplash-image-JngP0kqu6JQ.jpg All Pieces - Spotlight: Trans and Non-Binary Empowerment and Joy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622516723995-XJ4A0S91LSRIHLD2RN2O/Sophie.jpg All Pieces - Spotlight: Trans and Non-Binary Empowerment and Joy Name: Sophie Connell Pronouns: They/she Gender identity: Nonbinary trans woman Sexual orientation, disability: Dyke, Blind (ocular albinism) Location and professions: Baltimore-based comedian and producer Social media: @SophieComedian on Instagram & Twitter Consistent projects: Comedy for People Who Hate Joe Rogan (transitioning... Teehee, to a physical show) and regular video essays on comedy on my YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UC5IXK9lD1SgdS_EzVlLgyHQ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1622516794296-O5XFAYSGSFYSVKLLXYNF/Leo.jpeg All Pieces - Spotlight: Trans and Non-Binary Empowerment and Joy Name: Leo Pronouns: He/him/his Gender identity: Trans Man Professions: Actor, writer, and engineer Social media: @beelineowls on Instagram Consistent projects: @queerwindow on Instagram, @thearmorycomedy on Instagram Upcoming projects: Character Shows 6/3 and 6/10 via The Armory Comedy https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/interloper monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625109973152-JJSE6OE9Q19QOHG5SHMC/unsplash-image-IecvcDXr2EE.jpg All Pieces - Interloper - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625109919144-GPHU871KOVLVD904TLJC/unsplash-image-0mSNvk1-5es.jpg All Pieces - Interloper - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625089877474-BCNYG5UCQLJBILUKPGQC/a4aaf272-5357-4e6d-abde-5e3bdb76fad0.jpeg All Pieces - Interloper - Safiyya Bintali is a writer, her main areas of focus being creative nonfiction, flash, and poetry. Her creative work has been published in the literary journals Beyond Thought, as well as Ink and Sword. In her free time, Safiyya enjoys studying classic cars and astronomy, reading (especially thrillers), and exploring hiking trails in her state. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/my-fathers-goodbye monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625089810402-36ZGJKE7VBMDFGKCH8OA/casey-short-photo.JPG All Pieces - My Father’s Goodbye - Casey Shortt is a graduate student, teacher, and lover of books. She is an aspiring writer, wannabe world traveler, and an amateur seamstress. When she isn’t writing, she is most likely planting flowers around her lake cabin and drinking a glass of pink lemonade. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625114133564-3DRN61R246HAQUVCMGRB/unsplash-image-4V_B_u9W_vg.jpg All Pieces - My Father’s Goodbye - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/this-isnt-about-the-fall-out-boys monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625089918403-YPKFA7DOHYV6YZT5B9ZO/Katarina-Schultz.jpg All Pieces - This Isn’t About The (Fall Out) Boys - Katarina Schultz (she/they) lives and writes at the intersection of media, mental health, and hope. Bylines include Screen Rant, Comic Book Resources, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and Uncomfortable Revolution. Kat lives in LA with her cat, Bug. She simply wants to make you feel. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625110842398-Q9IVUAX0Z57D2VB5AUU1/unsplash-image-GpCO9-E-pmM.jpg All Pieces - This Isn’t About The (Fall Out) Boys - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/letter-to-the-newly-brain-injured-me monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625114321483-26Y7YZV2QBI4W665D5V4/unsplash-image-o04xDvWE33U.jpg All Pieces - Letter To The Newly Brain-Injured Me - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625089654925-VWZ2GB1UUQY6P05NJBSK/Will-carter.jpg All Pieces - Letter To The Newly Brain-Injured Me - Will Carter is a native of Roswell, Georgia. He suffered a traumatic brain injury in October of 2007, while he was a senior in high school. After a stay at the Shepherd Center, he went on to get his Master of Fine Arts in Playwriting & Master of Arts in Teaching. Now, he lives in Roswell with his wife and daughter and teaches at Kennesaw State University. His work has been published in Brain Injury Hope Magazine, The Purpled Nail, Uncomfortable Revolution, and His View from Home. He loves his job, sharing his story with his students, and encouraging them on to live their lives to the fullest. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/making-you-a-metaphor monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626209799277-SU6ZUNUMW2Q12SZT5N0G/andrew-neel-KkCig7EbfoA-unsplash.jpg All Pieces - Making you A Metaphor - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625522328122-ZHUCBO6QJH3X7MF19J8N/Eva-kerins.JPG All Pieces - Making you A Metaphor - Eva Kerins a burgeoning writer with an incredible love for all forms of artistic expression, her interests ranging from the works of Rachel Carson and Jonathan Swift to modern day writers like Tim Kreider and Ross Gay. She is a full-time student with a love of indoor gardening, a mediocre amount of talent in playing the ukulele, and a tentative plan to intentionally lose herself in a foreign city. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/white-noise monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625523332251-XH3C9D9HJLW6TCI8ZRJQ/Rachelschmidt.png All Pieces - White Noise - Rachel Schmidt is a creative writing major and history minor at the University of Redlands. With a love for fantastical worlds and the simple things in life, she finds herself incorporating these themes into her poetry. In her free time, Rachel enjoys drawing, horseback riding, and tutoring equally frazzled online learners. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626657402165-6NOA4XS7BY4HX8J68MG1/unsplash-image-q_oAQezJr9U.jpg All Pieces - White Noise - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-cheap-date monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625438757479-2XPR5VR5SYLA44BTFVBT/unsplash-image-Kbs9KCPI17U.jpg All Pieces - A CHeap Date - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-meeting monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626208814456-Z8KR6WJZBXCC5U3J1ZYJ/unsplash-image-9fqwGqGLUxc.jpg All Pieces - The Meeting - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625521999373-Z6E914NSVHID3FU75Q2Z/jeff_image.jpg All Pieces - The Meeting - Jeff Hyndman is a retired IT worker who then worked for four years as a substitute teacher at a nearby middle school teacher. He lives in a small town outside of Atlanta with his wife of 39 years, two dogs and a cat. His daughter lives and works as an attorney in Atlanta and his son resides in a group home north of Atlanta. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/picket-fence monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625524513346-XG7DZDGT8QAIA5UBJC2N/Amelie+Pollak.jpg All Pieces - Picket Fence - Amelie is a 22 year old writer living in the South of France. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/how-to-explain-saginaw-michigan monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626647682177-X0RMC9VVTIN9XB7IGR50/unsplash-image-tdWNELsQSmE.jpg All Pieces - How To Explain: Saginaw, Michigan https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625523145725-KTKFF58I5MJXGP3Q9BYR/Olivia+Munoz.jpeg All Pieces - How To Explain: Saginaw, Michigan - Olivia Muñoz [she/ella] is a writer and educator living in Fresno, California, where the sun beats down heavy and writers grow like weeds. She has a MFA from Fresno State. Her work reflects on culture, the Midwest, and tiny joys, and the complexities of America. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/my-mothers-eyes monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625523896731-OHLNCCJ7GAEZU3O03LN5/Melissa_Mark_headshot.jpg All Pieces - My Mother’s Eyes - Melissa struggled to choose between majoring in creative writing and psychology in college. As a practicing therapist for twenty years, she is now exploring her love of writing with renewed vigor. She is passionate about mental health awareness in every form, something she hopes is reflected in her pieces. Melissa lives in Flagstaff, Arizona with her husband and two children. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626895433536-KKTBTGNH20SLEXO8FREK/unsplash-image-z0nVqfrOqWA.jpg All Pieces - My Mother’s Eyes - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/what-i-would-tell-my-mom-if-i-could monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625524769446-4BPABIQST1L77ES2O9L6/Carol+Barret.JPG All Pieces - What I Would Tell My Mom If I Could - Carol Barrett teaches Poetry and Healing seminars for two universities. She has published two volumes of poetry and one of Creative Nonfiction (Pansies, a finalist for the 2020 Oregon Book Awards.) Her poems appear in such diverse journals as JAMA, The Women's Review of Books, Poetry International, Christian Century, and Bellevue Literary Review. A former NEA fellow in poetry, she lives in Bend, OR. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1627271858805-IWXA93AVITHMFD0XXYHV/unsplash-image-llZIWkNGzS4.jpg All Pieces - What I Would Tell My Mom If I Could How Minnesota dropped below minus 45, 64 cars piled up in Kansas. Much to be thankful for, she agrees. To avoid icy streets, I am walking in Costco, have returned to the senior center where we drum our feet on the floor, seated in folding chairs. Funny, she thinks, this sitting marathon, even she might make the finish. I will tell her about the hand cream my doctor advised, soaks in to chapped hands without feeling greasy, would she like to try some. I will say I am keeping up with my students, not wanting to tax her on account of the origins of the Nature Movement, the evolution of Barbie dolls, the finale of aging for women with disabilities. She will ask what I’ve heard from my daughter, and how my ex-husband is doing. I will tell her how good to see cousin Helen at the service, so long since our freshman year in college. I will say Helen adores her, the affection that summer we were ten, chocolate sodas when her mother left for international affairs. I would say I took those sodas for granted, so constant, reliable, tell her I still double knot my shoelaces for a hike. I would ask if she has found Dad and how long it took, whether instantaneous, souls touching like sparklers on the Fourth, or not until some complex and delicate screening by angels her side of the river. She will hang up too soon, as she usually did those last years, unable to hold any more, unable to follow my wintry landscapes, my anxious footing. Still she would thank me for calling, and say good night. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/mother monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1627525335414-357MQUMY54X3GCDJ3RQZ/unsplash-image-tHkxjAudRfo.jpg All Pieces - Mother My mother died in the early minutes of March 21, 2012 just as spring was coming to its fullest expression in Birmingham, Alabama. This was the city in which she was born, married, had her children and lived her entire life. The foliage was a promising shade of bright green. The suburban lawns were visions lined with banks of azaleas in full bloom. The year was still young; as yet, the sun’s heat had no weight to it. On March 9, she was diagnosed with bone cancer. How long she had had the bone cancer, her doctor would not suppose. What was known was that the bone cancer was a metastasis from breast cancer she had survived fourteen years ago. For the past twelve years, she had been cancer-free, but, as it was explained, breast cancer is sneaky and insidious and doesn’t give up easily. The doctor giving her the diagnosis stressed the positive aspects: the cancer had not spread beyond the bones, and with chemotherapy, she might live a few more years, although she would likely be confined to a wheelchair. If this was meant to be the silver lining, my mother didn’t see it that way. She confided her true state of mind to her rabbi. “Rabbi, I know I’m dying,” she said to him when he visited her in the hospital. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625525195861-ON3O3OL04YDC4S1AHLF4/Adrienne-pine.jpeg All Pieces - Mother - Adrienne Pine's creative nonfiction has appeared in Feminine Collective, Gravel, Open: Journal of Arts and Letters, Masque and Spectacle, Arkansas Review; Friends: Voices on the Gift of Companionship, Sheepshead Review, Shark Reef, and other publications. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/runaway monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625437707021-Q0OHBCQE654S34HC97VN/jessv.jpg All Pieces - Runaway - Jessica is a follower of Christ and a multifaceted creative that uses her passion for writing to communicate her unique worldview. Although she is currently a barista and server by trade, she hopes to one day publish a book and work in the music industry as a songwriter. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625438210392-5SEGC8U7AHX3A7DI725P/jamie-street-6zXwP5xpbPE-unsplash.jpg All Pieces - Runaway - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/shoebox-dolls monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625451243263-TCQ4QUSUK0NFS6RHDVQO/sandra-gabriel-8XKX_Pp55K0-unsplash.jpg All Pieces - Shoebox Dolls I was three when I threw my Ken doll inside a shoebox, leaving Barbie and Kelly alone at their dinner table in their one- bedroom apartment. Barbie worked two jobs to afford rent: her weekdays spent in blue scrubs, weekends in flight-attendant skirts, but every Tuesday evening she combed Kelly’s curls into pig-tails and drove her to volleyball practice in their pink and white beetle. Aunt Skipper watched Kelly on the days Barbie worked late, cleaning wet sheets and cooking Fruit Loops for dinner. I was seven when I made Kelly ask Skipper, “Where’s Daddy?” to which Skipper sighed and said, “He lost himself, sweetheart.” And even though I knew Ken was buried beneath piles of miss-matched green heels and floral printed pants, Kelly did not. I was seventeen when we moved. I packed my old Barbie dolls into shoe- boxes to give to Goodwill and folded my father’s apology letter into a box so it covered my Ken doll’s blue eyes and static smile. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/reflection monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1627272885750-GSKRMR16WN5LUGXYR4BO/unsplash-image-M19QtooXPKs.jpg All Pieces - Reflection I used to go to the mirror to reconstruct my face after I had done something out of myself. I’d always return to the mirror to paint inside the frame with brushes I did not own. When I return to the mirror I don't bother with brushes, I've found something better. I shake the pieces all over the place. Everywhere, so the light can bounce all over me. Thousands of pieces of broken create rainbows all over the room. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625524595176-RWJHDV7WZFXHI45MKG6Y/Natasha+Johnson.jpg All Pieces - Reflection - Natasha has recently completed her degree in English and is staring into the future with a mix of apprehension and excitement. Writing poetry is an escape and challenge for her, she enjoys looking at a jumble of words in her diary and thinking “what can I make out of this?”- the process helps her organise her own thoughts (she’s a terrible overthinker), and she has often found clarity and comfort in poems. She has poetry published in Ta Voix and also loves working with audio, she is currently co-producing a sci-fi audio drama. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/where-have-they-gone monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626037354066-NGAM9KBR0DGCJDTURP81/unsplash-image-JoH60FhTp50.jpg All Pieces - Where Have They Gone I’ll start here. Where grass hugs the dew, and chipmunks scurry across the prairie, under the vision of a hawk who sharpens his talons on ancient redwoods. I’ll mix a cup of cold instant coffee and pick out the grounds with dirty fingers before I swing my pack on my shoulder and dial in my stride. Against rain, cold, wind, and breathlessness. Against the bobcat who treads dead silent on dry sticks and leaves. Against the owl’s night-time necromancy. Mother, are you there? I’ve begun to forget her voice and all voices of the world. I mistake my own for the echo of crows in the valley, black as spires on gothic cathedrals. I often wonder if birds pass on tales to their young, and I wonder how they end. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625515290838-FYW246Q50S0Q4STN6M01/igor.png All Pieces - Where Have They Gone - Igor Kojadinovic is a Serbian poet and philosophy student. Born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, he was relocated to the United States, where he has worked as a firefighter and paramedic for the last five years. He currently attends The University of Central Florida and is pursuing his B.A. in philosophy. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/leave-a-trail-burnt-heart monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625523438888-QVHB38CH3K70NY7GQ89M/elizabethpaull.gif All Pieces - Leave A Trail, Burnt Heart - Elys Paull is a British writer stranded abroad with their Croatian dog. Through their work, they explore themes of nostalgia, nature, and relationships. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626656851450-YZDGNSZL1Z4Q9L4MHMK7/casey-horner-JIdmuiF9luY-unsplash.jpg All Pieces - Leave A Trail, Burnt Heart https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/clean-up-on-aisle-4 monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625442521575-DYYR7BJMHPVIMNWOLLZO/Legarda_photo_1.jpg All Pieces - Clean Up On Aisle 4 - Cristina Legarda was born in the Philippines and spent her early childhood there before moving to Bethesda, Maryland. She studied literature in college and then attended medical school and is now a practicing physician in Boston. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in America magazine, the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, the Journal of Medical Humanities, Diaspora Baby Blues, Dappled Things, Plainsongs, and FOLIO. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625442910023-FT45MC36GUT31RQYQVCA/unsplash-image-X_xyvXnN1wg.jpg All Pieces - Clean Up On Aisle 4 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/what-are-we-going-to-do-about-the-trumpers monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625701502023-6Q8OOT8KINBG1009JAF4/onpageimage.jpg All Pieces - What Are We Going to Do About The Trumpers? - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625513035289-KS11HSKA8FUYZA4VXF6K/Stefania.jpg All Pieces - What Are We Going to Do About The Trumpers? - Stefania D'Andrea is a prose and comedy writer from Queens, NY. She is one of the original staff readers for the literary magazine Cagibi, where she edits and reviews works of fiction and non-fiction. Her first short story, In Her Head, is published in the 12th issue of Newtown Literary. Many of her comedy sketches have been performed at the People's Improv Theatre (PIT) in New York City in 2018 and 2019. Stefania received her B.A. in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing, from the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Hunter in 2017. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/rainbows-and-bougainvillea monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625515432214-WDMESGG06NM2O9GLZ2PY/Ria_Mishra.JPG All Pieces - Rainbows and Bougainvillea - Ria Mishra is about to start her life as a post-graduate student in psychology and has been a closeted writer since she could hold a pencil. She has interned as a writer at her local e-magazine and has also worked as a freelance copywriter. Having nowhere to put a truckload of yearning and despair, Ria has turned to poetry to stack them neatly into stanzas and verses. She dreams to someday convince herself she can, in fact, write well by being successfully published. She turns to Mary Oliver, Audre Lord, and Bo Burnham when she wants to indulge in poetry that she knows is phenomenal. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626038534847-NH1GUTIT32UA6M3BK2BG/unsplash-image-AhbRiZ1Rg8o.jpg All Pieces - Rainbows and Bougainvillea You make home in the heart of someone who helped mend the one in you. And you hope there is a home in your heart too, where they sit and sip love in the afternoons. You put all the things you love in your new home; rainbows and bougainvilleas, songs that play with time, journals that had never seen light. And you hope that they do the same, like stack old stories neatly on the racks of your chest, paint the walls with colors that bend light away from the cracks, press nostalgia in the folds of your sighs. But they find other homes that they like more. The light might fall better over there. The echoes might be less shrill. The door handles might match their palm better and the radio frequency that plays their poems might be finer in the wind. So they move without meaning to and you stay back without wanting to and it’s disconcerting to live in a home so far from the one in you. So you learn the transit, and eventually decide to move too. They leave some stuff back like a moment of vulnerability. You forget some things there, like a day of laughter that your stomach hadn't been able to hold. And you make peace with the distance. You learn to live in the home they left behind. You learn to save their leftover love in an empty box of sweets and go to the market alone and buy flowers for yourself. You learn to sing along to the echoes and feel full at night. You learn to sip love that you poured yourself. You learn to paint eyes every time you feel unseen. You learn to remember that you were born in the home you give to others, and you must die there too. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/split-ends monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625523240007-Q7OTUM07IGFVEDCOVM78/Sarah+Liese.jpg All Pieces - Split Ends - Sarah Liese is a Full Circle Fellow at the Sundance Institute, while she pursues her master’s degree in journalism at Ohio University. She is a Diné and Chippewa poet in the early stages of my poetry career. Her poems have been featured in the online publication Indigenous Goddess Gang. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626649053929-VRY5CW27WBKV7FIWS0VQ/marek-piwnicki-j_9gYGFSCNs-unsplash.jpg All Pieces - Split Ends - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/things-to-know-when-living-with-white-roommates monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626895152533-N6YA8IIXNX1DBAIR31EU/unsplash-image-QKrLdkoYDrc.jpg All Pieces - Things To Know When Living With White Roommates - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-bitching-hour monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625719105633-TGMG2330LE7R29J8FFXC/unsplash-image-qZzJoiKHqmo.jpg All Pieces - The Bitching Hour - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/clear-blue-mourning monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626894690653-OUD9FD9ALY03M2RM85ZX/unsplash-image-1PehHv0VwFM.jpg All Pieces - Clear Blue Mourning - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/growing-young monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1627273301651-Q220Z3LLX2XO9C16GB6T/unsplash-image-71JG91H3EKw.jpg All Pieces - Growing Young I used to think the Midwest was prosaic, devoid of any real beauty; flat, flat, flat. But you must forgive me, for I was young then and liked to think what everyone thought, so easily swayed I was by the swift tide of popular opinion. Yes, time heals, but it also wakes you up. It is ironic how the closer to death we get, the more we appreciate the life we have. Perhaps, though, the longer we live, the more like a child we become; you know, the children we were when we didn’t need to be told to be grateful for what we had because our eyes were still fresh with wonder, still full of stars and fire and a light we didn’t know we’d spend the rest of our lives trying to get back. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625524676591-MG9GLPB9TRKWZRXMW4TU/Abigailmoma.jpeg All Pieces - Growing Young - Abigail Moma has been published in a variety of places under her maiden name, Wieser. These include: Stepping Stones Magazine and Measure, A Review of Formal Poetry. She was also shortlisted for the 2017 Montreal International Poetry Prize with her poem, "Song of the Water Lilies," which appeared in their 2017 Global Poetry Anthology. She currently lives in Decatur, IL with her husband and their cat named Lucy. Together they own and run their specialty coffee shop, The River Coffee Company. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/brain-waves monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1627523638037-NRI1QZTLWQSSIWPQPD4X/scott-webb-z-byiqHM1ZM-unsplash.jpg All Pieces - Brain Waves - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625524998384-6XV7ZXUDKZPR6XA8VTWE/Sarah-Johnson.jpeg All Pieces - Brain Waves - Sarah Johnson is a student of literature and a graduate of Bennington College. Her work can be found at SHARK REEF and The Coil. She currently resides in Vermont. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/suspension monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625525105643-NHE4P123BSZBCKFIDQKY/Anne-federof.jpeg All Pieces - Suspension - Anne Fedoroff’s journey towards adulthood was derailed by drugs as a teenager. Somehow, she managed to juggle addiction, high school classes, living at times on the streets of San Francisco, and acceptance into college. She managed to beat the odds by kicking drugs and had a long successful career as a registered nurse working in the field of neuroscience at a large teaching hospital. Anne is a skilled storyteller with a unique voice, who writes with unflinching candor and a wicked sense of humor; her writing is at once gritty, compelling, and, ultimately, inspiring. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1627504126473-3UJD0BXPWU0GXWSPT41D/unsplash-image-8K2qEhGc-2M.jpg All Pieces - Suspension - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/museum-of-marriage monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625441512837-U0HMVGNNCPY8KY0E1VKW/unsplash-image-PCzkTuGMamM.jpg All Pieces - Museum of a Marriage - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/nails monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626040346636-4RQQVIUTF80LL6YVVPFM/unsplash-image-1bRqiHGtPK0.jpg All Pieces - Nails His silence hammers nails into my ears Picking apart what I said earlier Vodka deluded my brain My insides spewed into a toilet bowl Hair wrapped up behind me The shame blanketing my body He’s giving up on me As he should Friendly, casual conversation at the bar with a stranger Equation for my disaster He sees the bruises and hand marks Imprinted on me forever I’ve been gone for awhile Late nights and drunk driving The wood floors screaming I’m home at 3am Another person left their presence in me He turns away and leaves me on the floor My apologizes are hollow Hanging in the air like my infidelity Slivers of his patience disappear Like my integrity and decency I pry the nails out of my ears Toss them aside next to me Extinguishing all his love Like a finished cigarette He said I used to be easy to love But not like this https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625515693844-SBBQ6SD4ENTNOX374WB4/miadelbando.jpg All Pieces - Nails - Mia Amore Del Bando was born and raised in Long Beach, California. She is a Los Angeles based flight attendant. Her profession allowed her to travel to several countries and practices her independence wherever she goes. “Lilac Rain and V-Day” debuted in “The Art of Everyone”, an online literary journal. She is a faithful friend, difficult daughter, and selfish lover. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/how-to-kill-a-man monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626041590426-2683KZRX48TXFFFI8FQD/joshua-rawson-harris-wCD3miwwhgs-unsplash.jpg All Pieces - How To Kill A Man take away the things that make him want to stand from his bed at dawn. chew his name & spit it at shame's feet. break his dream's spine. incite his shadows. stir a rebellion in his blood. deprive him of things that make him long for his bed's bosom at the death of day. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-people-we-ate-dinner-with monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626209989789-I9UEJI59V72OSN6COPL5/unsplash-image-Q_Moi2xjieU.jpg All Pieces - The People We Ate Dinner With - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625522414692-7PSQ05G82PMBTS3OXN07/Nicholas-macdonell.jpg All Pieces - The People We Ate Dinner With - Nicholas MacDonnell is a writer and teacher living in Olathe, Kansas. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/volume monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625524265530-C9U8X7XJXBA2HBHP46X2/Danelle-Callahan.jpg All Pieces - Volume - Danelle Callahan grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania and through gumption and Goo-Gone, was able to leave at her maturity for wider spaces. Graduate of Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in English, she matriculated with the keen use of her brains, karaoke and onomatopoeias. Vivaciously curious and a writer from age 9, she has since traveled from the High Mohave Desert in California to the bluffs of Montana, the plains of the Midwest, the oil shores of Texas, and beyond. Published through her college literary magazine ‘The Inkwell’ and via prose in some small regional blogs in the Midwest, Danelle continues to write daily. She is currently producing a poetry chapbook, as well as an urban fantasy novel series. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1627272482369-RQ1KEUDBBZAKYUF6BK81/unsplash-image-eybM9n4yrpE.jpg All Pieces - Volume - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/arise monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625596990620-VR7UOVWHS7Y19RT6ANE3/ava-sol-4TcSbremurA-unsplash.jpg All Pieces - Arise If someone were to cut my heart out, in the crimson ventricles and minutiae of arteries, there would be names of those I love threaded in my very cells. Coming to terms with life made me realize this is both who I am and something I do to myself. To love with existence’s every waking moment is to live a life of disappointment. Sometimes, I think I could be less heavy, less introspective, less everything, really. I wish I could take things as they are, allow the universe to simply exist and recover from the punches it throws. But I don't think I recover. Rather I adapt, and my flesh is made tepidly whole over bumpy black scabs. Tear the skin only a little, and therein lies rot. As I have aged foolishly in vanity, I once believed in a promise of love so ferocious and true that I could travel to the corners of the globe and it could still find me. It feels strange to finally admit this naïve wish. By saying this is what I want, I know I am not going to get it. I just don’t think that’s how the world works. Or at least that’s not how it works for me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625513333378-F1LI7U6GWU9TJSV7WFEL/Rachel-reis.jpg All Pieces - Arise - Rachel M. Reis is a writer and photographer from Dallas, Texas. Her work has appeared in Ruminate Magazine, Fathom Magazine, Drunk Monkeys, and the Barely South Review. Her freelance photojournalism focuses on civic activism and protests. She has a Bachelor's in History from William Jewell College and a Master's in Public Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/campus-reverie monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625515575297-0RFL5HH46R8HUEJA4V7U/Danielle-bongiovani.jpg All Pieces - Campus Reverie - Danielle is a student, an activist, and a lover of all things sci-fi and fantasy. She has had her writing published in "Trillium," "Apprentice Writer," and "50 Haikus." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626039638765-RVP99CBNHB4YZSB2XPOH/unsplash-image-lcfZmDhQP5g.jpg All Pieces - Campus Reverie - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tadpoles-and-pandemic-hope monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625522204609-CFF1EMNDT0NB79CT04BI/madeline-marq.jpg All Pieces - Tadpoles and Pandemic Hope - Madeline Marquardt is a writer, photographer, and paddler currently based in Grand Marais, Minnesota. She has worked as a sea kayaking guide in the Apostle Islands, English teacher in Armenia, and paddled and hiked extensively throughout the Lake Superior Region and state of Michigan. You can find her at madelinemarquardt.com, where she writes about the outdoors and adventure travel. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626209176000-3J5DY0HOXOD5KZBWFPRH/unsplash-image-ktPKyUs3Qjs.jpg All Pieces - Tadpoles and Pandemic Hope - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/mothers monthly 0.5 2021-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626646447637-PQEQGYF4SJGJ70SWRNNM/unsplash-image-DPmevL6jcHo.jpg All Pieces - Mothers https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1625523075219-HS189K0CD5QVF8BQC7B0/Sophianewcomb.png All Pieces - Mothers - Sophia Newcomb is a student of the University of Alabama where she is double majoring in English and History. She loves fiction where fantastical worlds abound, but there are moments in this life in the simple joys of humanity that show her that where there is love, there is a little bit of magic. Her work has been previously published in Havik 2020 and Dewpoint Literary Magazine. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-way-we-read-today monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1626895554193-NIN3IQDNBZH3UC7GSE8X/unsplash-image-Bj7Pt0ZMBOk.jpg All Pieces - The Way We Read Today - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/trans-flag-of-gatorade monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1627849573877-LAF3J5NGZPPY9U3M0YDO/mercury-marvin.jpg All Pieces - Trans Flag of Gatorade - Mercury-Marvin Sunderland (he/him) is a transgender autistic gay man with Borderline Personality Disorder. He's from Seattle and currently attends the Evergreen State College. He's been published by University of Amsterdam's Writer's Block, UC Davis' Open Ceilings, UC Riverside's Santa Ana River Review, UC Santa Barbara's Spectrum, and The New School's The Inquisitive Eater. His lifelong dream is to become the most banned author in human history. He's @RomanGodMercury on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1627849737352-9LP19DMNOA4QT96UQIVP/unsplash-image-mDsArpw5eeM.jpg All Pieces - Trans Flag of Gatorade - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/what-they-dont-tell-you monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628437219782-DMV8FHRDB62BSL9D31BL/Kate_Koenig_Author_Pic.jpg All Pieces - What They Don't Tell You - Kate Koenig is a queer writer and photographer living in Houston, TX. She is a recent MFA graduate of Creative Writing from The New School. She earned her BA in English and History at the University of Pittsburgh. Her work has either appeared or is forthcoming in Sunspot Literary Journal, Barren Magazine, La Piccioletta Barca, Sazeracs, Smoky Ink, and elsewhere. She is currently querying her YA manuscript, Stigmata. Find her on Twitter here: twitter.com/KateK_Writing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628437593394-41CGXTV6FIWE6DYZ4BC8/unsplash-image-pdDWeu0rMkw.jpg All Pieces - What They Don't Tell You https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/picture-day monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628438378964-177B4VDMTOYQKFM75R12/unsplash-image-jxmVsYjglnQ.jpg All Pieces - Picture Day - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628435770132-KE1W88M9TKI7VSLFNVR6/Photo_-_Armstrong.jpg All Pieces - Picture Day - Glen Armstrong (he/him) holds an MFA in English from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and edits a poetry journal called Cruel Garters. He has three current books of poems: Invisible Histories, The New Vaudeville, and Midsummer. His work has appeared in Poetry Northwest, Conduit, and The Cream City Review. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/hey-black-girl monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629498347324-DASUYVG15FCBOLBTTIUT/unsplash-image-rlNibgIqi4o.jpg All Pieces - hey, black girl Hey, black girl, Walk with your head held high. Smile with your teeth, perfect white. I see you, smart and beautiful, And everything in between. Be proud of that, your golden skin. Grin, the Emperor’s rays caress beauty. You are beauty, black girl. Let not the scorns of seers of color Be the bleach that sheds your skin. Hey, black girl, Be bold in your covering. Your golden skin signifies power. Don it with pride, Your blackness is true. Rare magnificence, One authentic black girl, Chiseled to perfection. Stride with your chin up, Pure valor in every step. Don't despise it, I beseech, This color, this pigment inside you. It is ebony. Ebony is true. Love your blackness, black girl. For you are black and black is you. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629498242450-76QBWR84LR5J54TYZJ4U/Snapchat-1198944569.jpg All Pieces - hey, black girl - Mellissa Crooks is a twenty-something years old Jamaican who fell in love with the art of poetry and storytelling at a tender age. She spends her spare time reading soppy romance books or spending time with her family. You can connect with Mellissa on her social media; @crooksology on Instagram or @crooksology1 on Twitter. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/being-enough monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628733523490-T8K49JQ9GGWOXY2GAS40/unsplash-image-gfTu43GaYXw.jpg All Pieces - Being enough: On Black Girlhood & The Right To Take it Easy - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628726978067-ZR2N6SOHJ19OBFXVTPMP/Marie-author.JPG All Pieces - Being enough: On Black Girlhood & The Right To Take it Easy - Marie was born and raised in Paris and is currently studying English Law and French Law at the University of Exeter. "ANTIGONE", her first play was performed in Pennsylvania, California, and Arizona during the 2020/2021 season as part of numerous festivals and its final monologue has appeared in New World Theatre's 08:46 anthology, a celebration of emerging and established Black Artists' theatrical work. Her poetry was recently featured in Black Spring Press' "Best New British and Irish Poets 2019-2021", an anthology which is set to be published in June 2021. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628733555966-7QS655SVKNY43LK6WIRZ/unsplash-image-_z1fydm6azE.jpg All Pieces - Being enough: On Black Girlhood & The Right To Take it Easy - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/you-teach-me-to-spit-you-out monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629077570547-CQB7SCTVATFMSJVKPQV7/Clara_Burghelea_photo.jpg All Pieces - You teach me to spit you out - Clara Burghelea is a Romanian-born poet with an MFA in Poetry from Adelphi University. Recipient of the Robert Muroff Poetry Award, her poems and translations appeared in Ambit, Waxwing, The Cortland Review and elsewhere. Her collection The Flavor of The Other was published in 2020 with Dos Madres Press. She is the Review Editor of Ezra, An Online Journal of Translation. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629080391292-2CJEGJQ150IREGHRG4CJ/unsplash-image--S4OsO0c6Ts.jpg All Pieces - You teach me to spit you out I am allowed / back for a time / you sotto voice / while staring at me/ with your eternal mouth / just spit me out from the octopus/ grip that sucks on poem veins/ teach your heart/ to skip every trace of me/ like an old vinyl player/ before you know it/ Soon, I will be this edible ovary/ of pain/ nested under your left breast/ the heaviness of it/ I am but a joke that falls flat/ in a crowd/ the bleeding fruit/ of my tongue/ to rot unopen/ Honey moon dripping over rooftops/ I swallow moonlight spews/ unscripted grief, unwritten ache/ behind open eyelids, nausea/ slumbers/ and every cell swells / how can I want these things too/ https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/when-i-read-the-headline monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628109761248-F0WJPOT10DFBQ43HS0AR/Yoga_0231_2.JPG All Pieces - when i read the headline, i knew i was flesh - Allie Dixon is a writer with an MFA from Lesley University. Her fiction and nonfiction deal mainly with systemic sexism and life’s uncanny, often creepy and unexplainable moments. Her essays and chapters from her memoir, More Than Bone, have been honored by Ploughshares and have appeared in SLAB Literary Magazine. Currently, Allie is living just outside of Boston, Massachusetts working as a freelance writer and finishing her memoir. When she’s not working, Allie loves horror movie binging, delicious local drinks and food – especially wine and seafood – and outdoor adventuring such as kayaking, hiking, and trail running. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628102873831-WDXW3EQ6TWUDMV87VCC7/unsplash-image-9oGoyCX3g_A.png All Pieces - when i read the headline, i knew i was flesh - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628102831176-6CFZKMBIKJYH105DU34P/unsplash-image-hUWINRMPvsc.jpg All Pieces - when i read the headline, i knew i was flesh - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/illegally-americana monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629319811080-PS9JDWDGYS89I3T4M4I8/unsplash-image-P3PFi8THbUs.jpg All Pieces - illegally americana - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629319212110-FAFW5LI84BE43RMLDECV/tempImage41eh8H.gif All Pieces - illegally americana - Maria Arango is a student currently enrolled in Miami Arts Charter in the program of Creative Writing. Maria was born in Bogota, Colombia, and likes to write about immigration and writing that shows a different perspective from the other side. In 2019 she was named the Editor of the Teen Art Force Magazine of Contemporary Art. She has several publications like in Tint Journal, Canvas summer 2019 issue, Diversified 2020 and was a writer in an activist magazine (Defiant Magazine). During the summer she was an intern at The Lab, a coworking space where she received the opportunity to be a blog writer and help small companies with social media. She is also the President of the Book Club at her school and as a part-time job helps a small leather business “Sulay bags” to promote their art work in art shows. In 2020 she received a Gold Key, Silver Key, and an additional silver key in Scholastic. She also won a Silver medal in scholastic which only 1% of the applications received at a national level. Maria was also Awarded in the Miami Fair Department of Creative writing this April. She was a student at Speak up where she did speak out poetry and has performed in the Miami Book Fair. She also received an amazing opportunity to be in the investigative journalism program at The School of The New York Times with a full scholarship. In her free time, she is a blogger for the South Florida Red Cross and she is currently constructing her own activist magazine Forlavox. María loves the art of writing and hopes to further her art while helping others. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/for-alice-who-died-when-i-wasnt-looking monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1627848889067-EA0P3OV1EGWTDO8LWVCD/unsplash-image-wxHznGKxCIo.jpg All Pieces - For Alice, Who Died When I Wasn't Looking Years after we lost touch (so easy to do so long ago when letters and long distance phone calls were our only options) I looked for you online and found only a posting that a woman with your name who would have been your age (our age) who came from Chagrin Falls died in 1991 Saddened I searched among my souvenirs and found your last letter on that groovy yellow stationery and read of your new life and new plans and it all seemed so good Did I write back? I couldn't recall Too much life had intervened for both of us it seems The years had passed and there was nothing to do but wonder and remember the small New York apartment we briefly shared and our excursions into Greenwich Village culture when we were young and adventurous More years passed and again I thought of you and looked online This time I found more postings more death records and report of a suicide a lawsuit against the gun seller who said in effect 'she was sane' But again I was left with questions Not why I could understand why Because despite the fun memories (the John and Yoko film festival concerts at Fillmore East the night we ate too many organic prune snacks and had to run home) I recalled your fondness for dangerous men your tales of sleepwalking incidents and the anger that could turn your apple-pie face into a portrait of rage No, I didn't need to wonder why But no matter where I looked I found nothing to tell me of the life that followed that oh-so-positive missive (which I kept along with the photo of us arm in arm, smiling beneath the sign of the Blimpie shop where we usually dined and the one of you posing as an angry Kent State protestor which I recognized as an unfulfilled wish) Was there happiness at all? Did you ever get anything you wanted besides that gun? These are the things I don't know and will never know because I will not look for you again One thing I've learned in all these years of knowing and not knowing is when to stop And so I leave it here I'm sorry for your pain I'm sorry you are dead And I'm sorry for myself that I can never now recall my life as your friend without knowing that you are beyond my reach https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/an-elegy-for-cracked-foundations monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628727027276-XXXISQRGDFCFV4MIJ03U/Kayla-author.jpg All Pieces - An elegy for cracked foundations - Kayla Jessop is a recent graduate of the Masters of Arts in Writing program at Coastal Carolina University. Her creative nonfiction has been published in Tempo, Harpur Palate, and is forthcoming in other literary magazines. She does her best writing while sitting in coffee shops and daydreaming about possibilities. In her free time, she enjoys cross-stitching and watching New Girl. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628733864796-TNS5B6JSSFD3TPY1ZBI4/unsplash-image-9Qm9uePH1Tw.jpg All Pieces - An elegy for cracked foundations - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/i-never-kept-my-nudes-with-me monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629079354922-D83WV6EFIW2OQRBO9MTW/unsplash-image-oha7AANDiL8.jpg All Pieces - I never Kept my nudes with me - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629077339885-4CIZCQ6PQIB35GDPD8IT/IMG_20210716_151521_840.jpg All Pieces - I never Kept my nudes with me - Shalini mastered Laws only to realize that she was a better poet and writer. She has been published in Kitaab.org, Anatomy Of The Heart And Mind, Poetically. She reviews books for Southern Review Of Books, Queens MFA, and breathes good music, coffee and trips in India. She posts everyday on her safe space- IG- @belladonnaoflavender. You can DM her to ask what her username means or talk about books. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/between-writers monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628734468686-VAB42HI216NYVRVEX4GW/unsplash-image-SXn-fWj0Ht4.jpg All Pieces - Between writers - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628734146679-MK8NVGGT8SPKB32M5BLQ/unsplash-image-QrL8WGWj5-A.jpg All Pieces - Between writers - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628727088353-C3RUFGQQK2X82PMK5WWT/Octavia-author.JPG All Pieces - Between writers - Octavia Rosko lives in a crooked apartment wedged between skyscrapers on the Lower East Side of New York City. She is a freelance documentary producer and director, a yoga teacher and a primary caretaker for an impossibly fickle peace lily. She gets paid to write for television, making figments into concrete commodities, so her recreational writing focuses on capturing intangible, nameless emotions. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/letters-to-the-past-and-the-future monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629952173162-MRADJ8FF9GH4UCYR5SHE/unsplash-image-Uo1_a7cTQKU.jpg All Pieces - Letters to the Past and the Future - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629952000119-ZRDADRB0XJ6157SP9KQK/unsplash-image-rYK9ldQ8SHM.jpg All Pieces - Letters to the Past and the Future - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629951699024-AH7QSW18GUL4VYTGFEAA/Darlene_P_Campos.jpg All Pieces - Letters to the Past and the Future - Darlene P. Campos is a novelist for young readers. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Texas at El Paso. When she's not writing, she enjoys reading, exercising, and going to museums. She is Ecuadorian-American and lives in Houston, TX with her husband. Visit her website at www.darlenepcampos.com https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-dullness-of-yellow monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629950420410-JGKHQ627D8COLINXFH5G/Screenshot_2021-07-17_at_10.35.50_PM.jpeg All Pieces - The Dullness of Yellow - Katin Sarner is an 18-year-old from Los Angeles with a passion for sharing her story through words. Katin is currently studying Creative Writing, Music, and Education Studies at Sarah Lawrence College. She plans to become a high school English teacher and hopes to eventually advocate for education reform at a national level. Katin was the winner of the 2nd annual New York Times Narrative Contest, as well as a Gold and Silver Key recipient in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Katin’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, Scholastic: Choices, Harpur Palate, The Hellebore, The Novillian, Pear Shaped Press, and HerStry. She owes her writing success to all of her middle and high school English teachers who inspired her to find her voice through words. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629951470690-BDIWOXZ7KV92TCLMN4BM/unsplash-image-e_h2C2dCc1U.jpg All Pieces - The Dullness of Yellow - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-manifesto-on-anger monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628103323600-OU6IARGTDH9SIDCN6EQY/unsplash-image-XOQJa4OC8P0.jpg All Pieces - a manifesto on anger - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628109931006-21414XKV8Z9897H0AX5J/a_mathiowetz_web-2.jpg All Pieces - a manifesto on anger - Shay Galloway studied creative writing at Utah State University and received her Bachelor’s degree in 2012. She received her MFA from Roosevelt University in 2017. Her work has appeared in Origami Journal, Adanna, The Write Launch, A-Minor Magazine and The Lindenwood Review, with an upcoming nonfiction essay titled “How to be mixed in a one-drop world” with The Nasiona. She currently resides and teaches in Washington. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628103029942-Q76W9LY0W8QFYUTS0PB1/unsplash-image-6ZTfOdH964Y.jpg All Pieces - a manifesto on anger - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/neurotypes monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629498881939-NLCUYVEGAJ9233S49ASU/unsplash-image-cAtzHUz7Z8g.jpg All Pieces - Neurotypes - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-few-jokes-about-life monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630281327032-U05HW7MINQXWD8CNSWMM/unsplash-image-CSeCKeW4TM0.jpg All Pieces - a few jokes about life - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630280133245-HFNYO2ZZZF1CKD6F1EKV/IMG_8105.JPG All Pieces - a few jokes about life - Claire Patton is a Public History graduate student at Oklahoma State University. Her work focuses on the Digital Humanities, Indigenous history, and the study of women in rural areas. Claire enjoys reading classic literature, drinking coffee, and petting her evil cat, Sophie. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/negative-message-received monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628103646113-DEWLSCPABLQQ1ZC7TZ8X/unsplash-image-YtoNx53Vc78.jpg All Pieces - (negative) message received - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/spaceships-and-racecars-the-boy-in-red monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630282044806-OQPCGIN6SG2B1SMEG0DO/unsplash-image-pJXfiANluIE.jpg All Pieces - Spaceships and Racecars, The Boy in Red - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/and-now-i-know monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629954190082-JZP9LZYE4Q1JOVF80BH6/unsplash-image-QzECeLe11Mg.jpg All Pieces - And Now I know - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629953808806-M3RZ25V5MI3RO8MHA6Y5/unsplash-image-jV2cNlH4e6A.jpg All Pieces - And Now I know - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629952937799-KUI15KLWG1W2TZ51PWDG/Facebook_cover_pix.jpg All Pieces - And Now I know - Jami Hunt-Williams is a graduate of Lindenwood University with an MFA in writing. Her publication credits include Crack the Spine, Wingless Dreamers, and the Sad Girls Lit Club. She teaches English, Journalism, and Publications at Mexico High School in Mexico, MO, where she makes her home with her husband, son, and brother. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/views-from-eternity monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628437934040-X3WWZXAQLJ8UPDCGODOI/unsplash-image-iSIaOcFWu44.jpg All Pieces - Views from eternity - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1628436863663-ZM52L31WZV2FI9SEYZJI/IMG_2834.jpg All Pieces - Views from eternity - Thomas Kneeland teaches and performs poetry, is the Founder & Executive Director at The Kneeland Center for Poetry, and is the Editor-in-Chief at The Elevation Review. His third collection of poems, Stop F*cking Killing Us is an Amazon bestseller. Thomas has been published in several literary journals across the country, including Up The Staircase Quarterly, High Shelf Press, and INverse Poetry Archives, an online archive organized by Poet Laureate, Adrian Matejka. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/thunder monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629415097003-WD9M2APNE3YJSD63Q7TR/unsplash-image-Pe1Ol9oLc4o.jpg All Pieces - Thunder Sometimes walls cannot be taken down with a hammer. Sometimes you must allow yourself to seep through them slowly. You must vibrate blue- violet light bending the rays blending them into a fine thin periwinkle that creeps in & brings with it tidal pools & estuaries clouds & moss. Once in you will see that the walls are not smooth but cracked & gaunt in places porous even. You will find violins & cats & sparks waiting to become stars. All long for your hands to pluck & stroke them into glissando & nova arpeggio & purr—you will have your cadenza as sun breaches stone & pincushion moss fans out to corners. Then the white oaks will take over their taproots pulling apart the foundations of walls yet you must stay long after their crumbling to stretch bow across string fingers across feline back eyes across nightfall of space & hum your violaceous verve so that pinwheel petals spin in mistral while delta flows amply over field where walls once stood & out to ocean’s thunder. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629499419263-MNOGTWOA9A7V9W5Y967O/Headshot_-_High_Resolution.JPG All Pieces - Thunder - T.M. thomson’s work has been featured in several journals, including Wild Age Press, These Fragile Lilacs, and Borrowed Solace, most recently appearing in The Roanoke Review and Camas. Her poetry will be featured in upcoming issues of The Blue Ash Review and Jelly Bucket. Three of her poems have been nominated for Pushcart Awards: “Seahorse and Moon” in 2005, “I Walked Out in January” in 2016, and “Strum and Lull” in 2018. She has co-authored Frame and Mount the Sky, a chapbook of ekphrastic poetry (2017) and is author of Strum and Lull (2019) and The Profusion (2019). She has a writer’s page at https://www.facebook.com/TaunjaThomsonWriter/. When she’s not writing, she can be found communing with cats, playing in mud, or spinning. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/articles-of-infatuation monthly 0.5 2024-07-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629693350186-2YGJFTLSP35WGVFM620L/unsplash-image-bzBs0_g0lRo.jpg All Pieces - Articles of Infatuation https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/sunburst monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630279697375-57R9KHM4705BVNLFOWPF/88052698_10156611853377447_6478209858158985216_o.jpg All Pieces - Sunburst - Katrina Kaye is a writer and educator living in Albuquerque, NM. She is seeking an audience for her ever-growing surplus of poetic meanderings. Find her hoard of previously published writing on her website: ironandsulfur.com. She is grateful to anyone who reads her work and in awe of those willing to share it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630279950381-30FM4FLWCS12WK1RO3XI/unsplash-image-tIL1v1jSoaY.jpg All Pieces - Sunburst I am trying to remember your eyes, if they burst around iris, if they traded shades of yellow for grey. Memory is a flexible thing, easily impassioned with the influence of passing days. Your eyes were not your best feature, still, I can’t help but to search for them in the passing of crowds. A bird I let fly that I desperately want to see again. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tell-me-how monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1627850501338-0TXHQI0HJ5WDXZM3PARA/Picture1.jpg All Pieces - Tell me how - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1627850534960-Z0CMHZV3VX3J4R32CED4/Anneysa.png All Pieces - Tell me how - Anneysa Gaille grew up along the banks of Buffalo Bayou in Houston, Texas. In 2018 her chapbook, No Such Thing As, was published by the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality at the University of Chicago. Gaille worked on the Brooklyn Review from 2019 to 2021, serving as the Visual Arts and Poetry editor. She recently received her Poetry MFA from Brooklyn College, where she is an adjunct lecturer in the English Department. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-box monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629077451531-55HCZXOCE1FE93K9F9M8/2016-02-27_02.05.27.jpg All Pieces - The box - Originating from rural Nebraska, Miles Mayer is an award-winning educator, singer-songwriter, and author/editor in science and academics. He has been published in Academe, Analytical Chemistry, and Talanta. He enjoys cold, dimly lit rooms and falling down rabbit holes. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/everywhere monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629323406246-OVUSEKEAM2NBMQHOL7V8/unsplash-image-1MO9VGUC138.jpg All Pieces - Everywhere - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629319275525-01P0CM9Y20OZ6QTLT7J0/unnamed.jpg All Pieces - Everywhere - Maddy studied Creative Writing at Southern Connecticut State University and also attended a Gotham Writer's Workshop for fiction writing. Maddy is an introvert and an avid yogi who enjoys reading, writing, and spending time by the sea. She loves Dove dark chocolate, all things purple, oldies playlists, and brisk walks in the middle of a New England October. She works in the counseling and education fields and is a strong advocate for equity and social justice. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/bundle monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629319133314-VBTKTW4UFT04N3O5ZE75/Gabrielle_Rupert_Photo.jpg All Pieces - bundle - Gabrielle Rupert is from Framingham, MA, and has a B.S. in Biology and an M.S. in Marine Biology. She is currently working as a fisheries observer in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean, fulfilling her dreams of making the world more sustainable. While she's not working on fishing boats, she writes short stories and novels. Her work has been published in Pif Magazine, Ripples in Space, Transfer Magazine, In Parentheses, the Coffin Bell Journal, and Forge & Flint. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1629322392826-HMZX2XA663ZV7CMYURJ4/unsplash-image-SOVuvSqyHNY.jpg All Pieces - bundle - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/new-age monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630280623012-83PIJOWPWKCEAMX6EPVG/LillianLippold.JPG All Pieces - NEW AGE - Lillian Grace Lippold (they/them) is a queer interdisciplinary artist from SoCal, currently residing in NYC. Their work can be found in Sterling Clack Clack, Bryant Literary Review, Santa Ana River Review, Coffee People Zine, Adolescent Content, Clementine Zine, Quillkeepers Press, LUPERCALIA. 'i am the love letter' (2020, Tablo Self-Publishing), 'Portraiture' (Elite Theatre Company). More at lillianlippold.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630281091222-FAEV83VADTWZTIMKSY27/unsplash-image-tSePVHkxUCk.jpg All Pieces - NEW AGE https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/dinner-with-anna-from-universe-x monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630798294226-XWKJ2K8QZMQPKRY4V84T/anna.jpeg All Pieces - Dinner with Anna from Universe X - Anna Stolley Persky, a lawyer and award-winning journalist, lives in Northern Virginia. She’s pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at George Mason University. Her fiction has been published in The Write Launch, VOIS, and The Plentitudes Journal. Her poetry has been published in the Sad Girls Club Literary Blog and The Closed Eye Open. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630800952069-9CKC77UL4SVCVIKBW295/unsplash-image-LUpDjlJv4_c.jpg All Pieces - Dinner with Anna from Universe X She wears sparkling indigo satin, which deepens her hazel eyes. She smells of cinnamon, drops French words, quotes Keats, with wrist flick emphasis, bracelets tinkling. I know by watching her which utensils to use as we eat first a golden soup, then oysters. I mirror her. All the while she tells me of her travels, elephant rides, hammocks in India, Mai Tais. Gazing into her placid forehead, I know she never fell in love with a drug addict, never subsisted on lentils and rice. We can’t find the exact moment when her life and mine splintered. She pulls up her shirt, and I reach for her flat stomach, trace where her scar would be if she were me. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/this-relationship-is-a-gameshow-and-i-only-answer-wrong monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631510516990-CPQ9CIOG9NDWEUENTBGC/unsplash-image-G9i_plbfDgk.jpg All Pieces - this relationship is a gameshow and i only answer wrong - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/living-through-la-peste monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630600196310-6DH9YI8GN1O75OYTWYTU/george.jpg All Pieces - living through la peste - George is writer from Deptford. He has written for The Guardian, Litro and The British Journal of Psychiatry. You may find his work in print and online in places such as Storgy, Horla and The Crazy Oik among others. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630549067297-3TCTSCF9RQC8X5BQCHM7/unsplash-image-SX177tIQu7Q.jpg All Pieces - living through la peste - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/memory-foam monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631155122464-PKGNSJCXXYVM1M77IYTT/unsplash-image-cOAlCJeI7PY.jpg All Pieces - Memory Foam - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631154330741-BWKO7WDMHY0HU03MIO8G/HB_Photo.jpg All Pieces - Memory Foam - Helen Bowie (she/they) is a writer, performer and charity worker based in London. Their debut poetry pamphlet WORD/PLAY is available from Beir Bua press, and their work has featured in a variety of journals and festival. She is founding editor of Tattizine, a potato themed art and lit zine. Helen is Extremely Online at twitter.com/helensulis https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/which-is-to-say monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631510313812-RH64DE4SSNY9M0SS0692/unsplash-image-zRhOoZz86JQ.jpg All Pieces - Which is to Say, - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631508675854-0ZB2V1VCPVJLYSRGYGJK/d_thomas_website_photo.png All Pieces - Which is to Say, - Dereka Thomas is a young writer from Fairburn, Georgia. She is currently earning both her MFA in Creative Fiction Writing and her MA in African American and African Diaspora Studies from Indiana University at Bloomington. Prior to this, she completed her Bachelor of Arts in English: Creative Writing at Colorado College. Dereka has previously been published in Nectar Poetry. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/go-the-distance monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630801978888-54OCMMCLJ3H69ZYB6SQM/unsplash-image-ZmeOcrsECVg.jpg All Pieces - Go The Distance - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/soulmates monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631510082833-85L426SNG910EDWFZ097/unsplash-image-PkJbY56JKh4.jpg All Pieces - Soulmates - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/deadlines monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630600251373-XU1ROOYUEE4C5DY0K8IW/Madison-block-authorphoto.jpg All Pieces - deadlines - Madison Block has a BA in Communications & Journalism from the University of New Mexico. In 2018, she won the Albuquerque Authors Festival nonfiction writing contest. Her work has appeared in Korean American Story, Burnt Pine Magazine, Mom Egg Review, and The Nasiona. Madison currently lives in the Boston area and works in marketing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630548771439-KJNG8CV3I71TZJPO2KJF/unsplash-image-ruQHpukrN7c.jpg All Pieces - deadlines - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-silent-war monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630799257648-X2H5Y24V1G254IRAOWR7/jessv.jpg All Pieces - The SIlent War - Jessica is a follower of Christ and a multifaceted creative that uses her passion for writing to communicate her unique world view. Although she is currently a barista and server by trade, she hopes to one day publish a book and work in the music industry as a song writer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630799830669-LLLUOI48M2F0OGEHZ029/unsplash-image-gCjkAuQMPj8.jpg All Pieces - The SIlent War https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/an-unbound-love monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631154230169-0TJW6RB2TX801W19APDK/AT_desk.jpg All Pieces - An Unbound Love - JoAnneh Nagler is the author of three nonfiction books including Naked Marriage (Skyhorse Publishing); How to Be an Artist Without Losing Your Mind, Your Shirt, or Your Creative Compass (W.W. Norton); and The Debt-Free Spending Plan (Harper-Collins), two of which were Amazon Top-100 titles. Her books have been featured in The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, The Huffington Post, Essence Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, LiveStrong Magazine and many more media outlets. Recently awarded the National League of PEN Women Achiever Award (2020), she wrote and directed the play Ruby and George in Love (Sonoma Arts Live Theatre Company), and composed two singer-songwriter albums, I Burn and Enraptured, available in all outlets. Her new short story collection Stay with Me, Wisconsin will be published in January 2022 by Coyote Point Press, and several stories have appeared in the literary journals New Haven Review, Glimmer Train, Mobius and Gold Man Review. She is a founding member of The Pacific Coast Writer’s Collective, and has just completed her first novel, Key West. Find more at www.AnArtistryLife.com. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631155767098-F6A0QIG90A9KNJPSRD86/unsplash-image-cIcBInoyb7U.jpg All Pieces - An Unbound Love - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/i-feel-like-a-mess-some-days monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630549239176-L2T6AL8ZONOHBKQIEHLS/unsplash-image-nwWUBsW6ud4.jpg All Pieces - I feel Like A Mess Some Days - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630600148978-Z40TC4NQP6PYEDU6466T/D64C5C37-0D7E-4AA6-BD28-623F5E996ADF_1_105_c.jpeg All Pieces - I feel Like A Mess Some Days - Eirinie is a black British writer living in the Bay Area. She is currently writing a book about the loss of her best friend and what love looks like after loss. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/forgotten-dates monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630798463535-J13ES791W5XMIK8ILW0W/shay-wills.jpg All Pieces - forgotten dates - An army brat, Shay Wills lived throughout the US and Europe. He graduated from the University of Arizona with a BA in English and Creative Writing. A divorced dad of two teens, when he isn’t working at a wellness resort in Tucson, he hikes, does yoga, reads, drinks too much Starbucks, and writes. He has poetry appearing in Bending Genres, The Abstract Elephant, Haiku Journal, Under the Basho, Wingless Dreamer, and The Closed Eye Open. In 2020, he returned to school for a master’s in clinical counseling to help veterans with the array of issues they face. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1630800247198-FS7NURVYTHXKLJROHSP2/unsplash-image-5RRseu8n_5s.jpg All Pieces - forgotten dates - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/bravado monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631507832328-4XBUMV1MBFRI2BQS17L6/carterkirby.jpg All Pieces - Bravado - Carter Kirby (he/they) is a 17-year-old upcoming poet based in Arkansas. His work explores the gritty truth of queerdom in the South, the ugly and uncertainty of growing up, and the anger of the underrepresented. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631510041364-D8JVXN98FPURFA0OY8CC/unsplash-image-ItOyjiBFWhY.jpg All Pieces - Bravado - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/sneaky-little-simple-little-weird-little-griefs monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631763908362-WVJWKERNS4299WLS0OMI/Wendy-authorphoto.JPG All Pieces - Sneaky Little, Simple Little, Weird Little Griefs - Wendy Gilbert Gronbeck is a retired hospice and oncology nurse who had a first career in TV writing and video production. She lives on the shores of Lake Michigan and writes essays, nature stories, humorous memoirs, and one marinating novel. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631763099477-B3SE7J9YRY760J6M37ON/unsplash-image-6iM5GOht664.jpg All Pieces - Sneaky Little, Simple Little, Weird Little Griefs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/going-home monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631762229907-86QHT7Z0X859FYIC5KGE/unsplash-image-DJdkx08_4oM.jpg All Pieces - Going Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631764659851-J56QCT24NWD1IFIF66G9/kimberlylarocca.jpeg All Pieces - Going Home - Kimberly LaRocca is a native of Clearwater, Florida. She attained an MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Tampa. Kimberly’s books include five collections of poetry, A Black Girls Poetry for the World, My Mind’s Temple, Inside Gray Matters, The Black Experience, Waves, and the insightful What My Grandma Taught Me, a self-help book packed with wisdom passed down through generations. She has also published Death and Other Things, a collection of short stories that feature death as their central theme, and includes “Things Left Unsaid,” which is featured in The Avalon Literary Review. Her essay, Self-Love, was featured in Munaku Magazine. In her free time Kimberly enjoys reading and watching movies, but with traveling she has found a true passion. Since getting the travel bug she has visited many countries in Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Latin America. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/excerpts-from-my-anxiety-diaries monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632884608259-EBDLF4V1GC0N3JG5ZC8H/unsplash-image-wESKMSgZJDo.jpg All Pieces - excerpts from my anxiety diaries - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/bird-in-the-house monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631763572503-I5YG2YOGYTVHS0N39YK0/unsplash-image-rdkms4Lkhmw.jpg All Pieces - Bird In The House - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1631763644108-FY8Z3A041UFKAUECADXW/leslie-authorphoto.jpeg All Pieces - Bird In The House - Leslie Alexander grew up on a sheep farm and couldn't wait to hit the road, make a bunch of mistakes and write about them. She wound up singing on a street corner for spare change and does not consider this a mistake. Her recent work has been published in Queens Quarterly Literary Review and Existere Magazine. Other words and music can be found at www.lesliealexander.com https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-body-full-of-ghosts monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632343174607-S1PJIHPMZJGGKZUTD6JD/unsplash-image-BfMbxUu0EGE.jpg All Pieces - A body Full Of Ghosts - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/how-to-survive-a-parents-unexpected-hospitalization monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632702219136-BF9YTKTZPY9GWGG7PJVZ/unsplash-image-rNUnz9fNr8E.jpg All Pieces - HOW TO SURVIVE A PARENT’S UNEXPECTED HOSPITALIZATION - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632701934647-JRO31GN0R9PB13Z7A5IE/VGilreath_w_suitcases.jpg All Pieces - HOW TO SURVIVE A PARENT’S UNEXPECTED HOSPITALIZATION - Valerie Gilreath lives in north Georgia with her wife and four cats. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in the Chaffin Journal, Sierra Nevada Review, Rio Grande Review, Main Street Rag, Crosswinds, and Arnazella, among others. She has a MFA from Georgia State University. She and her wife run a bookmobile program in their community. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/sniffing-at-my-door monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632701663820-F9TPC6Q39Q9OI7RQTQ1R/unsplash-image-lsl-cHy3aUM.jpg All Pieces - Sniffing At My Door One night late the Angel of Death came sniffing, knocking quietly, sexy, black felt fedora, shiny loafers, cashmere coat, humming a tune, Frank Sinatra I’m sure, Fly Me to the Moon. And when he showed me my name on a yellow post-it, I told him Fuck Off. Oh my, he said, shocked at my language. You just don’t get it, I said— I’m a fighter, a survivor. and I crushed it, that three millimeter lump in my soft right breast. It wasn’t easy. I dangled over a precipice some days, but I got through it Mister. Why even bother Dear, he whispered ever so sweetly in my ear. It’s going to get you eventually. I don’t even want to hear that, I told him. Don’t you see—there are dances left on my dance card, minutes and days, months and years to love hard and kiss my babies, see them stand under the wedding canopy and enough time to do some good in this crazy world. I’m not going with you… I hissed, and slammed the door in his pretty face. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632701310995-LR0ZW8TGI3UUFE9PVH9C/thumbnail_hand_on_chin.jpg All Pieces - Sniffing At My Door - After retiring in 2009, one inspiring writing workshop launched Joanne Jagoda of Oakland, on an unexpected writing trajectory. Her short stories, poetry and creative nonfiction have been featured on-line and in numerous print anthologies. Joanne’s first book of poetry, My Runaway Hourglass, Seventy Poems Celebrating Seventy Years was published in 2020. Her website is Joannejagoda.com https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/untitled-poems monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632096820578-5J7FJ3K8L8GU4DMFUDBD/82250182_10110586443619602_8288013071289417728_o.jpg All Pieces - Writing Untitled Poems - Yume Kim is an alumni at San Francisco State University, where she earned both an M.A. and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Her first ever chapbook publication, Reserve the Right, can be found through Nomadic Press. She currently resides in San Francisco, CA, where she both teaches and tutors, along with partaking in various local literary events whenever possible. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632101960899-402S112W0Q2ZOJ1FPDJZ/unsplash-image-tcyW6Im5Uug.jpg All Pieces - Writing Untitled Poems I eat a brownie edible, then go on Instagram, to see the face of the one who, violated my trust that August night in 2014, standing close to an old female classmate of mine both of whom are in a selfie photo, since it’s her bday celebration. He, the one who betrayed me, is not smiling. He merely has that same, blank stare. With no smile at all. I can only stop looking at my Instagram newsfeed. No matter how hard I try to forget he exists, he somehow finds a way. I still can’t unsee his face. Yet, all I can do, is merely sit, and wait...hoping that I can simply let the music calm my nerves, as I can feel my mind attempt to smother the nightmares, created by the one who betrayed me that night in 2014, as I try writing untitled poems, so that I can heal. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/this-time-next-saturday monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632701064010-A6WHF1UNN6RI5Q26T8ER/IMG_2586+%281%29.jpg All Pieces - This Time, Next Saturday - Erica Wessbecker is a chef and writer based in Minneapolis, MN. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632702826349-NIR7MPQJ8GGKH30VJX9V/unsplash-image-T0BYurbDK_M.jpg All Pieces - This Time, Next Saturday these plants will die. the floors will need to be swept again. i will sleep too late and eat too much and cry at the most inopportune time i’ll see the disgust on your face once more when all of my insecurities come to surface when i try too hard to prove my worth to you when my sentences are trite and childish and fail to find a point. i’ll ruin a perfectly fine saturday morning again. i’ll pay for dinner and resent it later. i can assure you. i’ll do this all again. but i’m here. and for once, i welcome it i welcome the opportunity to fail miserably next to you i welcome the shit weather the old shoes my bad purchases there’s no solution there’s no fix it will happen again only now i welcome the opportunity to fuck up incessantly in your good company and i hope you will do the same. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/hold-the-prince-please monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632880748399-YY6GLT73LEH2RECBIRE8/authors_bio.jpeg All Pieces - Hold the prince, please - Ciera Lloyd doesn’t know a world without writing. She earned her BFA in creative writing from UNCW. In September, she will begin her studies for her master of fine arts in creative writing at City, University of London. She, and her other published work, can be found on Instagram @ciera.lloyd. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632884164540-FPJ6NDHSTXUWW33EV9F7/unsplash-image-am053oKLDcA.jpg All Pieces - Hold the prince, please - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/war monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632101463372-PU1HNUKPB1O4PPXLL1F8/unsplash-image-uATVhIKPr8M.jpg All Pieces - War https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632101582899-5FBW4HX4GZBAE9PJ6KHQ/IMG_5609.JPG All Pieces - War - Along with her passion for poetry, Kira runs a photography business and travels anywhere she can. Her goal is to soon publish a book in which readers can connect with the raw emotion she sews into her poetry. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/i-made-it-to-a-dennys-in-white-fish-montana monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632342534854-VPSG1TLMJVCIEU75JXGL/unsplash-image-Yg5hhpstoFY.jpg All Pieces - I made it To A Denny’s in White Fish, Montana - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632369175350-4CZ737R2392NT3GXNR1O/jen-authorphoto.JPG All Pieces - I made it To A Denny’s in White Fish, Montana - Jen is a writer, podcaster, mother, and total jackass living in Olympia, Washington. She writes personal essays and humor/satire. You can find her work in McSweeney's, The Offing, The Belladonna, Points in Case, and many more, and learn more at jenfreymond.com. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/medusas-head-over-heels monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632098816275-WSZU5DR79N6V1FNU5VSL/unsplash-image-ehRsHPvOFlU.jpg All Pieces - Medusa’s Head Over Heels - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1632097554610-DJA82N7Z3WZSY91VK6NK/20200528_172611.jpg All Pieces - Medusa’s Head Over Heels - Self-identifying as a neurodiverse, two-spirit, elder storyteller deeply rooted in the lore and roar that has become Portlandia of The Left Coast, this wordwright attributes success and survival (if not salvation) to superlative supports, mindfulness practice, and daily creative expression in words, sounds, and images. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/typo monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1633298450862-I74SAHZAB5JO4OBIFPXI/unsplash-image-2J9x7tjgObY.jpg All Pieces - Typo While trying to type “authentic,” My phone autocorrected The misspelled word to “arthritic.” What began as an intention To discuss who I really am, My authentic self, Veered into a forecast Of my arthritic self, Who I will be when I’m old And osteoporosis Stomps through bones Once exceptional. But this poem isn’t even about that anymore. It’s about a typo, What I meant to say And what I actually said. It’s about an accident I made a minute ago, Which is life, I suppose: A series of things That go as planned, As well as unplanned. And I suppose it’s also life To get old by mistake While trying to express Who you truly are. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/gait-training monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1633298002766-VHCDHM38RA9O68DL5PPV/unsplash-image-T-AOFf2B8Zw.jpg All Pieces - Gait Training - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1633295685103-I8FR2PKPKPKD5YGKRUEJ/tumblr_18d9e679ea09600b7cb8b94035e53414_87c5aec1_2048.jpg All Pieces - Gait Training - Virginia Laurie is an English major at Washington and Lee University whose work has been published in LandLocked, Phantom Kangaroo, Cathexis Northwest Press and more. https://virginialaurie.com/ https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/love-and-texas monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1633904337112-VHIU0A01TJ2253JDC6K9/Screen_Shot_2021-09-07_at_3.10.35_PM.png All Pieces - LOVE AND TEXAS - Melissa Wabnitz Pumayugra is a writer and educator living in Central Texas. Her work has been published in Oklahoma Today, Red Door Magazine based in Copenhagen, and numerous other publications. When she is not writing, she enjoys spending time with her two children, her partner, and a cat named Murtle. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1633904952139-QCAXV4Q8ZS58WEPPX021/unsplash-image-5pDJmIKGb5c.jpg All Pieces - LOVE AND TEXAS - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/grains monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1635105356481-VEJ72EIKS6G9X4H8DT88/unsplash-image-KxykI3y16o0.jpg All Pieces - Grains - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1635104667244-MNXNW6LD8HQB097Q22CU/thumbnail.jpg All Pieces - Grains - N.T. Chambers has been an editor, educator and professional counselor. Born in Chicago, he's wandered extensively across the country, finally settling in the high desert of Arizona where he's accompanied by an elderly English bulldog named Shep. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/windows-an-ocular-journey monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1633588569340-4AFWA35IYOVVXTR41S4A/kathy-stephanides-author-portrait.jpg All Pieces - Windows: An Ocular Journey - Kathy Stephanides resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband. She has two grown daughters. Since 2010, Kathy has honed into memoir/essay as a way to make sense of her life, especially with her progressive visual loss to the point of having to leave her forty-year nursing career. She finds that writing gives her catharsis and a sense of meaning in a host of challenges from a traumatic childhood and Retinopathy of Prematurity. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1633560803871-QMB7G5CW9OQ0OPHWM62M/unsplash-image-kqguzgvYrtM.jpg All Pieces - Windows: An Ocular Journey - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-vindication-of-the-rights-of-television-addicts monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1633558217960-7RV4BMWWBMM7CLRT1WG5/unsplash-image-UBhpOIHnazM.jpg All Pieces - A Vindication of the Rights of Television Addicts - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/august monthly 0.5 2021-10-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1633905973972-AEAT9D24QDCFHI4D4RLN/unsplash-image-bQg-tSrr65c.jpg All Pieces - August - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1633905544904-ZJ4VF1R32HXGN8L5ZZUG/Profile_Image.jpg All Pieces - August - Hailey Spencer is a writer with an obsession for fairy tales. Her poetry has been published online and in print. She appeared in episode 24 of the Mytholadies podcast to discuss Tale-Type 510A, commonly referred to as Cinderella. She lives in Seattle with her wife, Elizabeth . For more on Hailey and her work, go to haileyspencerwrites.com https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/wishing-on-stardust monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1635105613736-J6VCX3UXEQCCLN7S54OX/1609778754065.jpg All Pieces - Wishing On Stardust - A 2020 graduate of University of St Andrews, Scotland (Biology BSc), Natalie competes on the horse polo and ballroom dancing teams in addition to taking part in golf, sailing and reeling. Natalie began writing poetry when her mum read Hailstones and Halibut Bones to her at a very young age. Natalie’s work has been featured in North American and Canadian poetry competitions hosted by Creative Communication, The Poetry Institute of Canada, The Royal Canadian Legion and Polar Expressions Publishing. Natalie has been featured in The Parliament Literary Journal's inaugural issue as the Ekphrastic poetry competition’s Artist's Choice winner. Most recently her work ‘Implosion’, has been published in the summer issue of The Parliament Literary Journal. Natalie has a great passion in writing to share messages in a rhyming form for all ages, that challenge perspectives, inspire innovation and allow for creativity. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1635106252132-TBYWQRY8SCKABJMT7WAK/unsplash-image-XncGiwY8F2M.jpg All Pieces - Wishing On Stardust - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/to-the-stars monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1635376883663-8C8USMNMRKQ1OK3E41K1/unsplash-image-134-72ac7W4.jpg All Pieces - To The Stars - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1635388716455-0K2GEFCQCGM8DVELZ4R7/Ali_Profile_FINAL_005_webres_copy.jpg All Pieces - To The Stars - Ali Bryan is an award-winning novelist and creative nonfiction writer who explores the what-ifs, the wtfs and the wait-a-minutes of every day. Her first novel, Roost, won the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction. Her second novel, The Figgs, was a finalist for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour and her YA novel, The Hill, was longlisted for the 2021 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize. Her short stories and essays and have been published in literary journals and magazines in Canada, the US and the UK. She lives in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, where she has a wrestling room in her garage and regularly gets choked out by her family. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/honey-sweet-specter monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1635387639414-PH5952NL7YON5VUHKL7O/IMG_4245.jpg All Pieces - Honey-sweet Specter - Faith Eberz is an Orlando-based writer, currently studying English and Creative Writing at University of Central Florida. She primarily writes confessional poetry, creative nonfiction, and literary fiction, and her work has been featured in Young Writers USA and Wingless Dreamer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1635388324336-D1NYVW40GKQRCEHQWGL0/unsplash-image-UewgGfZgYj0.jpg All Pieces - Honey-sweet Specter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/letter-to-my-home-of-seventeen-years monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/a21dff6b-4fc6-4881-b4ac-6e73786338b0/Emily_Rose_Miller_Headshot_March_2021.jpg All Pieces - letter to my home of seventeen years - Emily Rose Miller (she/her) graduated magna cum laude from Saint Leo University where she received her BA in English with a specialization in creative writing. Her work has been published in Capsule Stories, PopMatters, and Red Cedar Review, among others. Find her online at emilyrosemiller.com, on Instagram and Twitter @actualprincessemily and @Em_Rose_Miller, respectively, or in real life cuddling with her many cats. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/where-grief-grew-up monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/73a36fd9-2db6-479d-bd2d-d7a4fbe03270/62487430_10217325996597130_8083056364340903936_n.jpg All Pieces - where grief grew up - Danielle (she/her/hers) is an MFA alum and professor of disability/queer rhetoric at Chapman University. She has a fear of commitment in regard to novel writing and an affinity for wiener dogs. Her work has been published by Lunch Ticket, Vassar Review, Hobart, Split Lip, Redivider, etc. and is forthcoming in The Florida Review. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1637203192916-3ZSP7CA8QGZMZDUHJ1W2/unsplash-image-csTAoplqO2o.jpg All Pieces - where grief grew up - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/dreams monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1635717908002-6WOI94YHC1NKL2ZPTHU2/unsplash-image-rskq157yYfQ.jpg All Pieces - Dreams I dismantled my dreams, boxed them, stacked my closet shelves. They grow dusty beside shoes and short skirts I don’t wear as often as I thought I would. For years these dreams waited, only to be unwrapped upon occasion tried on, just to see if they still fit. But they are not for the keeping. I am done. Come to that cold melancholy realization that I will never have the guts to remove the tags. Instead, I rewrap them, bestow them, make peace as I give them to you one by one. I don’t give them as a curse, although I can attest to the lack of joy they have brought time after time. I hope they will do more for you than they ever did for me. I hope they will fit and you can twirl merrily to each new step. These things: dreams, hopes, love, the intangible aspects of myself I wanted so badly to create, to keep and harvest. They are not meant to be. I know that now. I release them to another, no regrets, no goodbyes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1635716818981-EBTN4NRQ3XD0XI414QHG/20954766.jpg All Pieces - Dreams - Katrina Kaye is a writer and educator living in Albuquerque, NM. She is seeking an audience for her ever-growing surplus of poetic meanderings. Find her hoard of previously published writing on her website: ironandsulfur.com. She is grateful to anyone who reads her work and in awe of those willing to share it. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/growing-through-it monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1636593852525-NUY18I4GF6LDSWMH28SE/unsplash-image-vrbZVyX2k4I.jpg All Pieces - growing through it - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/b90c40ba-e67c-44ae-8117-bf448b8eee22/image_16.jpg All Pieces - growing through it - Chloe Brooks is from so many places, and now lives on a lake in New Jersey with one fiancé, two cats, and many plants. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/humming-half-the-chorus monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1636339095474-TEV2MFOGEJUCVZCMBC5Z/unsplash-image-4NEWSyGBZTc.jpg All Pieces - humming half the chorus - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/4d4647c4-eb9d-4a2e-a307-18879f481ad7/turtleneck_selfie+%281%29.jpg All Pieces - humming half the chorus - RJ Robertson-DeGraaff is a young transgender author and student at Western Michigan University. His work has been published in multiple collections both online and in print with GNU Journal, Seven Circle Press, Atomic Flyswatter, and Flexible Press. He received a Gwen Frostic Creative Writing Award for Fiction in 2020. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/so-you-dont-have-to monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1637203924679-M04EKLW8P6Z6YGCG2SUR/unsplash-image-3s3JPEXRzUg.jpg All Pieces - so you don’t have to - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/9a8c6133-df44-42c6-8edd-8bda954c0af0/180A7342final_1.JPG All Pieces - so you don’t have to - Notter is a graduate of Chatham University's MFA program and her work has been featured in IDK Magazine and on WUMW Milwaukee Public Radio. While at Beloit College, she won the David & Marion Stocking Prize for Best Creative Nonfiction. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/robin-hood monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1637785350622-SBH40DY06IP7STT55IBC/unsplash-image-MngNtT2BlA4.jpg All Pieces - Robin Hood - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/56ba25c9-e202-48be-ae4f-85e5f59d0ac0/DaisySelfieJPG.JPG All Pieces - Robin Hood - Dana Eileen the Queen is a single mother and full time Literature student who conquers the world with an amusing case of bipolar disorder. Taking to pen and paper to write of her frequent episodes of psychosis, she has been published in the international anthology, "Signs of Life", detailing her make-believe marriage to John Mayer. Dana Eileen the Queen chases after yet another pursuit of holy matrimony in her essay "Robin Hood". By day she is Lana Del Rey, as witnessed in her published essay "Born to Cry", but by night she prefers her beauty sleep. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/this-is-how-she-grows monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1635963648092-Q4LA6GFLNA6NK33KZRF9/unsplash-image-jrwHmMxkC0Y.jpg All Pieces - this is how she grows - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/02d931df-5c22-4f4f-90ff-62a061fcb5ee/116237667_10157914917024023_5326411768508103575_n.jpg All Pieces - this is how she grows - Haley Sherif is a creative nonfiction writer. Her work has been published on The Rumpus, Hobart Pulp, Gravel, and Visual Verse. In May 2021, her essay was published in Fat & Queer (out by JKP). She loves the happiness that steeps in a hot cup of tea, words that hit the back of her throat, and each and. every sunset. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/consent monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1636336779308-6JBE1V4PRDF335NCK4HX/unsplash-image-15YDf39RIVc.jpg All Pieces - Consent - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/jurassic-park monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1ad62c5e-7091-4f69-bd2d-44db15e2714a/IMG_6793.JPG All Pieces - jurassic park - Cameron Cohen is a first year PhD student in Biomedical Sciences at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. When not in the lab, she loves to read, write, travel, and take photographs. Her literary and visual work has been previously published in the Short Vine Chronicles, Wingless Dreamer, Reservoir Road Literary Review and the Emory University Journal of East Asian Studies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1637781287847-QRMWK0Z97X4830IGIRR4/unsplash-image-C0eMifpRfQE.jpg All Pieces - jurassic park - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-new-tree monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1637544935025-VSWW9ZZGF1M0JI46FZKH/unsplash-image-x8MZ2MoEKLE.jpg All Pieces - a new tree - My boy cousin maps our family tree in Microsoft Excell. He uses purple highlight to mark a divorce. Purple. Purple. Purple. Purple. Purple. Purple. The word divorce was in our vocabulary for so long. So was ex-husband. How many more times did we utter ex-husband than we needed to? Bothering to say ex-husband took too many breaths and never once replenished the lungs. So I have a new word and I’m planting a new tree that grows back from the stump if it ever gets cut down. Both are called resurrection and the color is a magenta the human eye has never seen and all our women were born from this magenta tree and now that our mouths have been good and cleaned with permission to let what is be what is we can look to this great timekeeper and say In 2002 she resurrected. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/just-so-you-kno monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/b91de4f5-b128-491a-a611-c7a9e6ef1c28/Carolyn_Martin.jpeg All Pieces - Just so you know - Blissfully retired in Clackamas, OR, Carolyn Martin is a lover of gardening and snorkeling, feral cats and backyard birds, writing and photography. Her poems have appeared in more than 135 journals throughout North America, Australia, and the UK. Currently, she is the poetry editor of Kosmos Quarterly: journal for global transformation. Find out more at www.carolynmartinpoet.com. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1637615839442-DH18APA0ZFBPGSJG39KK/unsplash-image-RZk2SjAGhZw.jpg All Pieces - Just so you know this morning in the rain I chased your car halfway down the street intent on ranting about pots and baking pans greasing up the sink and sheets of Fed-Ex bubble wrap obscuring piles of mail and your grey coat invading my green chair but I wasn’t fast enough to catch your rearview glance so I punched your cell to sear your day with guilt for how I felt put-upon/ crowded-out/ and all those pent-up things I never say until they burn and how I could forgive if you were off to work to shop to pray not out to lunch with friends but I struck delete when I recalled your kiss good-bye and words we vowed to say (Let us be kind) when love’s reduced to sniping/ blaming/hurt and smallest things conspire to ruin sunsets on a Maui beach or walks around our autumned neighborhood so this is just to let you know I’ve scrubbed the pans/re-hung your coat/cleared out debris from my morning’s discontent practicing Let me be kind again and then again. First published in the Star 82 Review, 2015 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/stillness monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1a4a0435-02c5-403e-844e-9cd832d8868e/Supranowicz.jpg All Pieces - Stillness - Edward Michael Supranowicz is the grandson of Irish and Russian/Ukrainian immigrants. He grew up on a small farm in Appalachia. He has a grad background in painting and printmaking. Some of his artwork has recently or will soon appear in Fish Food, Streetlight, Another Chicago Magazine, The Door Is a Jar, The Phoenix, and other journals. Edward is also a published poet. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1638121319906-DEEBOIH6KJJGPJ85SIRK/unsplash-image-IwXNcB2M0yo.jpg All Pieces - Stillness I waited, And the sky turned cloudy. I waited, And it began to rain. I waited, And it began to snow. I waited, And night fell. I am still waiting. Sooner or later, morning must come. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/one-day monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1635717336010-HW8V04FI6I1RMGW1JMHF/unsplash-image-JCD6GNVfYpA.jpg All Pieces - One Day One day I hope I will feel whole again One day I pray I will feel at peace One day I dream I will feel loved One day I imagine I will feel in control One day I believe I will feel safe One day I crave I will feel at home One day I wish I will feel something That’s why I try for today. One day… Is what starts my todays. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1635716157543-V1G8PWD3QA5UNN6UPEHA/K9Tlxmk3QBCw767JhfPWYg.jpg All Pieces - One Day - Skylar Bauer is currently a senior in dietetics at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Skylar began writing poetry to cope with her C-PTSD & found a deep passion for it. A phrase Skylar lives by is "Where there's a will, there's a way". https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-let-down monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/14b90b1d-a802-4048-8b32-90107f881396/unsplash-image-kOqLw776D2o.jpg All Pieces - the let down - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/6865b0b6-5dda-4ea9-8166-88b7b546ce19/8758.jpeg All Pieces - the let down - Maggie Walcott lives with her family in the wilds of Northern Michigan in a house they built themselves. She has a grossly unused degree in physical anthropology from Michigan State University, and has returned lately to her first life calling: writing. Her pieces have been published in Mothers Always Write, Uncomfortable Revolution, The Dunes Review, Last Leaves Magazine, The Dillydoun Review, and most recently, Every Day Fiction. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/lessons-from-my-grandmother monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/6a8ab5b2-336d-4ff5-895b-19f9c0f2f07d/DR-Headshot_600x600_300dpi.jpeg All Pieces - lessons from my grandmother - Diana Raab, PhD, is an award-winning memoirist, poet, blogger, speaker, and author of 10 books and is a contributor to numerous journals and anthologies. Her two latest books are, "Writing for Bliss: A Seven-Step Plan for Telling Your Story and Transforming Your Life," and "Writing for Bliss: A Companion Journal." Her poetry chapbook, "An Imaginary Affair," is due out in 2021 with Finishing Line Press. She blogs for Psychology Today, Thrive Global, Sixty and Me, Good Men Project, and The Wisdom Daily and is a frequent guest blogger for various other sites. Visit: www.dianaraab.com. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1636608562762-SJ47J479RU2V4A1V1NFV/unsplash-image-IiEFmIXZWSw.jpg All Pieces - lessons from my grandmother - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-secret monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1638120912184-LQVAQ75WX0M5HWY1YUEX/unsplash-image-Oh-HEJmxkXM.jpg All Pieces - The Secret - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/88bb6995-cff1-4f57-bf0f-9ec39ed0dafa/_2019_Nicole.jpg All Pieces - The Secret - Nicole Farmer is a teacher living in Asheville, NC. Her poems have been published in The Closed Eye Open, Quiltkeepers Press, Capsule Stories, The Sheepshead Review, Roadrunner Review, Wild Roof Journal, Bacopa Literary Review, The Great Smokies Review, Kakalak Review, 86 Logic, Wingless Dreamer, and others. Her play 50 JOBS was produced in Los Angeles. Nicole has been awarded the First Prize in Prose Poetry from the Bacopa Literary Review, which will appear in Sept. 2021. Way back in the 90's she graduated from The Juilliard School of Drama. You can find her dancing barefoot in her driveway on the full moon at midnight. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/watching-the-water-rise monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1636928996378-X6BHVMC9QHZYKF7MOSW7/unsplash-image-ooDihhHjHY8.jpg All Pieces - watching the water rise - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/45584a0e-a58f-4461-affc-15c615cf69a9/8051AFF5-B7F0-4AE7-8CB2-BC6DA35FB104.jpeg All Pieces - watching the water rise - Miner is a former political consultant who now works in government affairs for the energy industry. His poems have appeared or will soon appear in The Ekphrastic Review, The Dewdrop, The Tanka Journal, The Earth Journal and JerryJazzMusician. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/elderberries monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1638122871173-RW9KO9221C2TUQ72DVLS/unsplash-image-b5q-4LqjZKQ.jpg All Pieces - Elderberries - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/funeral-service monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/7c8e992b-b561-42ff-9c5f-69ecf6caad1c/Headshot_2.jpg All Pieces - Funeral Service - Bri Craig (she/her) moonlights as a writer of stories, poetry, and plays. She recently published poetry in Bourgeon Magazine, the Athena Review, the Oakland Review, and Shelia-Na-Gig (2021), as well as an all-female one-act play titled, Purple Ink (Pioneer Drama, 2020). She credits caffeine and her cat as her main sources of inspiration. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1639964154859-OZJF990ONURRRYY0T50S/unsplash-image-IeLgjycwrgE.jpg All Pieces - Funeral Service No one will miss you when you die The voice tries to tell me. But the particles in my lungs will kiss my chest goodbye The plasma in my vein will grow cold and distant The hairs on my scalp will caress my cheek once more. This body is its own memorial service, its own funeral, Its own celebration of life. My cells will dress in black Before melting into the earth to blossom again as flowers. This body is its own bouquet. No one will miss you when you die The voice tries to tell me. But I will miss me when I die. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/her-skirt-was-short-amp-excuses-are-grossly-long monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/ffa00e48-21e3-487d-babe-1e726155e53d/173863550_10224398944902522_6950661895709474054_n.jpg All Pieces - Her skirt was short & excuses are grossly long - Frankie A Soto is a 2x winner of the Multicultural Poet of the year award from the National Spoken Word Poetry Awards in Chicago. His (New York Times) performance called him an absolute force. He’s been featured on ABC news and has traveled all across the country featuring at Universities, Colleges & high schools touring/performing and running workshops. His manuscript 'Petrichor' was a semi-finalist for the Hudson Prize with Black Lawrence Press & currently is in the final round of judging for the Sexton Prize with Black Spring Press in London https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1638754255073-Z031MI5OG3B1KOTYS2T9/unsplash-image-ebno_NwaOns.jpg All Pieces - Her skirt was short & excuses are grossly long Her body has been built to shrink & expand to produce & to nurture to feed & starve His hands find asking permission to dock & settle on what is building to be grayish. She has had to apologize for her skin being too consumable & their color blindness He has not had to apologize for thinking everything seen is up for consumption. Eve is always blamed for consuming the apple Adam likes to say the apple made me do it. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/love-naturally monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1638414859697-E3HSDI6QBXPETUTUANVB/unsplash-image-LDlC-35X2uU.jpg All Pieces - Love, Naturally - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/436006eb-626e-431f-afb7-bfb3881bf40a/Sola_Damon_Bio_pic.jpg All Pieces - Love, Naturally - Sola Damon is a recovering trial lawyer with four unfinished manuscripts in her bottom drawer. She is the author of Namaste at Home: Positive Thinking and Meditation During a Freakin' Pandemic. She lives in South Florida, where she's finally dusting off those manuscripts and turning them into novels. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/melody-of-the-eastern-winds monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1639364663157-WOZZP0QLO9KMBUGIBPS9/unsplash-image-qVb-K2mFtDU.jpg All Pieces - MELODY OF THE EASTERN WINDS - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/apart monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1639620841131-DM4SY7LX0KA0ZB2Q7X58/unsplash-image-Un4YBqqslXY.jpg All Pieces - Apart - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-backrooms-of-the-mind monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1639013976885-N3TUV1OT7USY69V0QU0N/unsplash-image-zcx5ztIjQAM.jpg All Pieces - The Backrooms of the mind - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/9eeb13ed-6f37-4a08-bf23-d835f9820b5c/author_photo.jpg All Pieces - The Backrooms of the mind - Clover S. Laurel is a dark fantasy and horror writer, currently residing in Delaware. Clover developed her love for literature at an early age and began writing when she was eight years old. Now twenty-seven, she has self-published three books and has worked with several clients through freelance editing. Clover advocates for those with mental illnesses and those on the autism spectrum, and she uses her writing as an outlet for these attributes. She also enjoys using nature as a theme in her work. Her other hobbies include Japanese fashion, embroidery, and video games. You can follow her @clover.s.laurel on Instagram https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/columbines-in-july monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/cc026e91-84be-4582-876c-8543e537dede/image2_2.jpeg All Pieces - Columbines in July - Heather Bartos lives near Portland, Oregon, and writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. She holds a Master’s degree in special education and a Doctoral degree in educational leadership. She has an upcoming poem in Porcupine Literary, an essay just published with miniskirt magazine, upcoming essays in Fatal Flaw Literary Magazine and Stoneboat Literary Journal, and upcoming flash fiction in Dillydoun Review. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1639621313774-VK7VUCZQ8GQM1NHPQO8B/unsplash-image-yiMWThdk0yQ.jpg All Pieces - Columbines in July - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/momma-hasnt-felt-safe-since-june-of-2016 monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1638395250802-TDYY6UX7Q2H2OZXBKKHE/unsplash-image-3w0M2-EmK1c.jpg All Pieces - Momma hasn’t felt safe since June of 2016 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1ac81386-405d-421a-8f06-f4a2c1202c60/Yellow_Springs_OH.jpg All Pieces - Momma hasn’t felt safe since June of 2016 - Nicole Gordon was born and raised in West Africa. Nicole is very interested in the brain and how different people function. She also self published a book when she was thirteen and hasn't stopped writing since. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/i-aint-gonna-argue monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1639364364493-I8IF7ORHLUX2K4R0JF3H/unsplash-image-qIRJeKdieKA.jpg All Pieces - I Ain’t Gonna Argue - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/i-find-you monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1639364211985-2UMGPWBA5RDMRQETE9S5/unsplash-image-9mn4cCxprHs.jpg All Pieces - I Find You - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/first-psych-ed-assessment-age-four monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/303bcf3f-7564-4280-ae34-608dc12f1ba8/44481298-444D-4976-8EAB-311C0325BB28.jpeg All Pieces - First Psych-Ed Assessment, Age Four - Cate Freeborn is in her second year at the University of Victoria, studying Writing on the unceded traditional territories of the Lekwungen peoples. She is the winner of the 2020 Walrus/Amazon Youth Short Story Award, and her work has been recognized by the Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest and Pandora’s Collective Poetry Contest. She is passionate about amplifying the stories of disabled and neurodivergent writers, and enjoys hiking, true crime podcasts, and concocting oat bars in her spare time. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1639964862060-NXGVSR265IL0IM8F0I9D/unsplash-image-XmHslCeMj9s.jpg All Pieces - First Psych-Ed Assessment, Age Four - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/independent-evidence monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/bc2d50b6-2834-4938-8077-458bf9cf282b/jane.JPG All Pieces - Independent Evidence - Jane Palmer is a professor, researcher, and activist in Washington, DC. When she's not reading, writing, sewing, or hanging out with her family and friends, she is dreaming of a world without violence. Twitter: @riskhope. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1639023775118-QK5MSJKXJM2P9TXE4ATI/unsplash-image-tBV0OhigrpA.jpg All Pieces - Independent Evidence - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-lioness-and-my-fathers-pride monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/34b5c672-419a-434c-bbb6-d7ffb2229e88/Bauduy_Pride.jpeg All Pieces - The Lioness and My Father’s Pride - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/e4db6c1d-96ad-427e-b513-03b41f7c279b/Bauduy_Lion.jpeg All Pieces - The Lioness and My Father’s Pride - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/bda72399-67f2-4234-843b-6282e01ada35/jenbauduy.JPG All Pieces - The Lioness and My Father’s Pride - Jen Bauduy is a writer and editor in Washington, D.C. This essay is a partial excerpt from her memoir. A different excerpt was recently published in The Maine Review. Jen was long listed for the First Pages Prize in 2019 & 2020 and was a finalist for the Sandra Carpenter Prize in Creative Non Fiction. Find her on Twitter @jen_ny_b https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/at-last monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1638754370203-3PHSOJ1C09YHVZ5ED12G/unsplash-image-1uVCTVSn-2o.jpg All Pieces - At Last - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/d7666630-3125-4023-b051-ea53de350492/IMG_20210815_163405.jpg All Pieces - At Last - Amanda Meyer is a Midwest native writer. She earned her BA in writing from Carroll University in 2014. Some of her previously published work includes poetry and children's literature in homes including Wingless Dreamer, Awakenings, and Indolent Books. Amanda's first full length poetry manuscript, the phoenix, is available on Amazon. She also has forthcoming work in Nine Cloud Journal. In her free time, Amanda enjoys spending time in the outdoors with her husband, board gaming, and playing with her tiny cat son. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/sea-glass monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/ea097992-d5cb-4180-8c39-1db596c35eb5/Leah_Browning_-_photo_-_You_Might_Need_to_Hear_This.jpg All Pieces - Sea Glass - Leah Browning is the author of three short nonfiction books and six chapbooks of poetry and fiction. Her writing has appeared in Four Way Review, The Forge Literary Magazine, The Threepenny Review, Valparaiso Fiction Review, The Broadkill Review, Oyster River Pages, Watershed Review, Random Sample Review, Belletrist Magazine, Poetry South, The Stillwater Review, Superstition Review, Santa Ana River Review, Newfound, The Homestead Review, Bellows American Review, Clementine Unbound, The Literary Review, Freshwater, and elsewhere. Her work has also been published in several anthologies including 101 Jewish Poems for the Third Millennium from Ashland Poetry Press and The Doll Collection from Terrapin Books. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1639962898405-89L3Z15OS3YXXBD30ZAD/unsplash-image-uDdznFRG41k.jpg All Pieces - Sea Glass - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/how-to-barely-survive-christmas-with-the-in-laws monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1640229559627-6YSWQ9J1QCLM7OSRLT17/unsplash-image-VDXtVYJVj7A.jpg All Pieces - How to Barely Survive Christmas with the In-Laws - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/christmas-party monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1640581347858-PN8UWH2VZ58QAY5D5BOH/unsplash-image-yeN9XfiUafY.jpg All Pieces - Christmas Party this is the street where i had the first kiss i ever put on replay, rewound over and over behind my eyelids. where frost marked the lawns on the walk to school in the winter. where sporadic, summer rain made fragment freckles on the asphalt. this is the house that always had a light on. that hosted every celebration from eight to eighteen and onward, creaking under the weight of chlorine footsteps thundering upstairs to fetch speakers, change outfits, play video games. this is the room i slept in when i fell in love for the first and last time. where i looked out the window so long the view changed. where we retreat near the end of the Christmas party, when all the adults are leaving and you and i are laughing and singing, staring at revolving disco ball patterns on the ceiling, and somehow knowing nothing will ever be like this again. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-wounds-of-my-father monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1640580441258-2OFJA10FMTKT2IW3KFT8/unsplash-image-2bBIe0XThR4.jpg All Pieces - The Wounds Of My Father - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/452e89d6-2acf-4fcc-ac6a-67b624f53158/A1TcCgUV3fL._SX750_SY470_.jpg All Pieces - The Wounds Of My Father - Lázaro Gutiérrez was born and lived in Cuba until the age of eight, when his family immigrated to the United States in search of a more prosperous life. Lázaro became interested in writing at an early age and was able to explore his passion for stories and poetry while completing his studies in college. In 2018, he graduated from Belmont Abbey College having completed his studies in Education and English. Lázaro has published various poems and has been featured in multiple anthologies including Z-Publishing House, Agora!, The Literary Yard, and most recently, his poem “Palomino in the white magnolias” was a finalist in WinglessDreamer’s depths of summer poetry contest. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/iowa monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/77f11743-6bea-40a8-aa53-54bcce4a66e9/IMG_8587.JPG All Pieces - Iowa - Heidie Raine is an Ohio-based writer who works primarily in the realm of creative nonfiction. She loves asparagus, hates skinny jeans, and recently thrifted a vintage oil lamp that she is quite proud of. Heidie has works forthcoming in The Cedarville Review. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1641443908634-LLUU8B8HOL6XXN9E26DF/unsplash-image-pHj23cFO1hg.jpg All Pieces - Iowa - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-listen-in-love monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/baa307ce-3425-41df-b7df-2b14b76c0e06/fullsizeoutput_11a.jpeg All Pieces - A Listen In Love - Lauren Melink is television script writer by day and a memoirist by night. Based in Boise, Idaho she spends her time running trails and journaling about the drama of day-to-day life. In 2019 she published a collection of short essays titled "It'll be Fine, Right?" https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1640818281690-F67MXDVZW8Q0J2YBHNDH/unsplash-image-DY2miYwMchk.jpg All Pieces - A Listen In Love - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/naming-assault monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1641442002831-SLJA7Z7BCYVP3QQ0JS0A/unsplash-image-ESlOYaAkJRA.jpg All Pieces - Naming Assault - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/479e932d-a8b2-4ed5-9f76-43495f19f364/CCM_Author_Photo.jpg All Pieces - Naming Assault - Casey Catherine Moore is a bipolar, bisexual activist, writer, and high school teacher in Washington, DC. She holds a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of South Carolina with a focus on Classics, Women’s and Gender Studies, and queer theory. She has published articles in academic journals and volumes that focus on gender and sexuality in the ancient world, particularly queerness and gender divergence, pop culture, LGBTQ+ rights, educational equity, and other social justice issues. Her work appears in the Comparatist, Cultural Perspectives on Language and Film, S/tick, and is forthcoming with Sinister Wisdom and Horrorscope, and she has been a featured poet with Mind Gravy Poetry and Day Eight. Casey uses her background in theory and commitment to activism and justice to teach writing with an intersectional lens that incorporates real-world issues and promotes equity. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-lost-brother monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/31719cbd-eaf3-4573-bc6a-cb1d43c033b2/6B363A7F-DAA1-4C47-A6A7-4121EFAFCAD8_4_5005_c.jpeg All Pieces - The Lost Brother - Bethany Reid's poetry books include Sparrow, which won the 2012 Gell Poetry Prize (Big Pencil Press 2012), and The Thing with Feathers, which was published as part of Triple No. 10 (Ravenna Press (2020). She lives in Edmonds, Washington, and blogs at http://www.bethanyareid.com. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1641787657995-1SK2Q4JNPZLZXKZU52RQ/unsplash-image-IP3RNVy9xNk.jpg All Pieces - The Lost Brother - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-legacy-impacts-of-poverty monthly 0.5 2022-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/72511230-21bc-4c7f-a703-25c31808d061/Anita_Gallagher_photo.JPG All Pieces - The Legacy Impacts Of Poverty - Anita Gallagher lives with her husband and cat in Tacoma, Washington. She is a third-generation American of API descent. She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science and Criminal Justice/Sociology from Washington State University, and a Master of Business Administration from Colorado State University. Her professional pursuits include government relations and public policy. She is a new writer and publishes work on Medium. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1640818246737-A2YNUSWBPPBK54LVQZ7W/unsplash-image-YfveMgXSWkc.jpg All Pieces - The Legacy Impacts Of Poverty - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/on-the-flight-back-from-charlotte-nc monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1641171314382-I28ACECHT35RJBL2618K/unsplash-image-88iVApDoLmU.jpg All Pieces - On The Flight Back From Charlotte, NC https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/kindling monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1642042439268-1QC0LR49O0K1SKRYL01W/unsplash-image-_tMj81GDJ-E.jpg All Pieces - Kindling - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/e049584f-fce6-4d2d-a872-6c291998439e/Me.jpg All Pieces - Kindling - Olivia is an unpublished author of twenty-one years of age, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She is studying Creative Writing and Psychology at Coe College. Olivia sees graduation in May of 2022, then continuing forward to Ashland University's MFA program in Ashland, Ohio. Kindling is a piece near and dear to her heart as it is a memoir about her grandfather. Poppa has been beside Olivia through every turn of life and continues to cheer her on through each new adventure. He has wanted to read this piece ever since Olivia wrote it, but she will not allow that until she can give it to him in publication. I love you, Poppa! https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/if-something-ever-happens monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/209f4970-d53d-48c4-af06-292d5361c427/Author_Photo.jpg All Pieces - If Something Ever Happens - Katie Matz is currently living in South Eastern PA. She is an aspiring writer with her first publications in Red Fez, The Scriblerus, Bridge Ink, and The Elevation Review. She dreams of becoming a well-known writer and having her work read by the world. She currently aids her mother in her family-owned home daycare. She is also studying for a degree in Secondary English Education. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1641165567803-FKJRB168SCIUYNPEWR7E/unsplash-image-99dACDeId_4.jpg All Pieces - If Something Ever Happens - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/memorial monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/11440d88-c026-4ecf-95fb-b110631b4130/bruce_meyer5x8_2_smaller.JPG All Pieces - Memorial - Bruce Meyer is author of more than 60 books of poetry, short stories, flash fiction, and non-fiction. His most recent collections of poems are McLuhan's Canary (Guernica, 2020), Grace of Falling Stars (Black Moss, 2021) and forthcoming are Church Grammar (St. Thomas Poetry Series) and One Sweet Moment (Guernica). His poems have won or been shortlisted for numerous international prizes. He lives in Barrie, Ontario. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1641788664498-HHIWI1NWEI7M4CCY7IFV/unsplash-image-Wtgfn5grR3M.jpg All Pieces - Memorial Every four or five years at a holiday dinner the subject comes up about planting a shrub on the family plot. We put down our forks and discuss a cedar, or maybe a low juniper, but we never arrive at a conclusion. Decades pass and we rarely visit, never check to see if the headstone is in place, or if the ground has sunken in a hollow trough; we refuse to consider death while we live, citing how we are consumed with life and won’t seek the living among the dead; agree an evergreen would be a choice; a hardy plant that lives through winters. They are signals of things Time cannot take. They root in desires where miracles exist, are difficult to kill, easy to keep and do not remind us of our fears, knowing what dies leaves a place to grieve and the shadows of those who grieve there. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/breaking-through monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/46753064-791a-44f2-ad74-554de5a9af21/Headshot.jpg All Pieces - Breaking Through - Tasha is a Colombian-American writer and journalist based in New York City. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Catapult Magazine, The Bogotá Post, and Univision Noticias. She is a Bilingual MA student at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY and a Contributor at Bushwick Daily. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1642041974116-C0IG2MBAVW4N3D8076U7/unsplash-image-oug4jhOwjJs.jpg All Pieces - Breaking Through - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/another-rejection-letter monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/d9da7a0c-2447-4dba-90bb-03b972a46fe0/head_shot.jpg All Pieces - Another Rejection Letter - Casey Killingsworth has work in The American Journal of Poetry, Two Thirds North, and other journals. His first book of poems, A Handbook for Water was released by Cranberry Press in 1995 and his new collection is A nest blew down (Kelsay Books 2021). Casey has a Master’s degree from Reed College. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1642395073506-P1Z88GI66M4JVFP3WZDG/unsplash-image-UaBK3fkTZ-Q.jpg All Pieces - Another Rejection Letter Somebody dies--my wife’s mother-- and I’m not there when my wife says she could hear the last breath, the expiration breath, and she knows. However, I have stared at the horizon at sunset across a west-facing ocean, watching for that spark of green exactly as the sun disappears, the expiration of another day. Maybe these are just expiration myths that help us close up shop, help us turn the sign from open to closed, a way to keep on living even as we’re confused about what shop we’re in. I got another rejection letter today but it’s okay. Sure, these poems aren’t going to find a life in that journal, but there are other journals, and other poems. It’s like as much as things keep closing, other things are opening, or at least not closing, and until we arrive at that final green spark on the western horizon we can keep coming back every day if we want, to sit in the sand tomorrow. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/coexist monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/318bd653-e67d-496e-9580-93121c31d991/IMG_8392.jpeg All Pieces - Coexist - Erika Gill lives, writes and builds community in Denver, CO. She grew up primarily in Victorville, CA, which is notable only in being the filming location of The Hills Have Eyes. Her poetry may be found in birdy. Magazine, Angel City Review, and petrichor. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1642394836207-JX0NLOXMOP6RDMZS1BTY/unsplash-image-ObpCE_X3j6U.jpg All Pieces - Coexist - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-roller-coaster-you-cannot-get-off-of monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1642659276988-WW4JCF0TMZ2OKCWYBQLH/unsplash-image-RIZ9q-v0iG4.jpg All Pieces - A Roller Coaster You cannot Get off OF - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/e489cd80-e55b-4e18-9aef-989c5c4c244b/NYT_Tattoos_034.jpg All Pieces - A Roller Coaster You cannot Get off OF - Joanna Acevedo is the Pushcart nominated author of the poetry collection The Pathophysiology of Longing (Black Centipede Press, 2020) and the short story collection Unsaid Things (Flexible Press, 2021). She was one of five finalists for the Editor’s Chapbook Prize in Fiction from the Southern Humanities Review, and was longlisted for both the 2021 Sexton Prize from Black Spring Press Group and the 2021 Prose Prize from Steel Toe Books. Her work has been seen in the Write Launch, Track Four, Sheila-Na-Gig Online, and many other places. She is a Hospitalfield 2020 Interdisciplinary Resident, an NYU Goldwater Fellow, Poetry Reader at Frontier Poetry and Associate Poetry Editor at West Trade Review. She received her MFA in Fiction from New York University in 2021. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/heart-dudes monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/a5f176bc-9b5e-4e35-8fc6-980d1369daac/JuliaMcDonaldBW.jpg All Pieces - Heart Dudes - Julia McDonald (She/Her/They/Them) is a queer artist, writer, and physician. In the last decade, most of their writing has appeared in mainstream news media as advocacy for patients and commentary on the intersection of politics and medicine. Their non-fiction has been published in Please See Me and in the anthology Beyond Queer Words. They are currently working in Ethiopia and DRC for a global humanitarian organization. You can follow them on IG (@drjuliamcdonald) and blog (https://drjuliamcdonald.wordpress.com) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1642659155145-KAPYJR8HIAUL2HSYW58O/unsplash-image-wLPr6US-oPc.jpg All Pieces - Heart Dudes - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/negril-in-ya-grill-a-guide-on-surviving-the-island-for-the-pretty-brown-tingz monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1643855179415-MJASZGPV2KHNHEZYZSOA/unsplash-image-hxwFW3-fS8c.jpg All Pieces - Negril In Ya Grill: A Guide on Surviving The Island For The Pretty Brown Tingz - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/9b832629-327d-463a-ad15-b6e64b4f8053/Mocha.jpg All Pieces - Negril In Ya Grill: A Guide on Surviving The Island For The Pretty Brown Tingz - Madison ‘Mocha’ Hunter’s writing style is best described as lifting a gold trim traced porcelain tea cup to your lips and getting a mouthful of whisky; her works invite you to quiet tea time then transforms your space into an intervention, HBCU Battle of the Bands, and a random sheet ripped from a personal journal all at once. This Detroit, MI, native, who received her Bachelor’s of Arts in English at the University of South Alabama, is one-eighth of Mobile, AL’s award-winning poetry troupe “Powerlines Poetry,” widely known as the spoken word artist “DictionKanari”. This colorful, innovative, and selfless creator has found herself in this pivotal polyamorous relationship with poetry and creative nonfiction and every piece she produces is an argument, a snapshot in her journey of making sense of both genres. Her pen is currently prevailing on the campus of University of Memphis where she is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Creative along with a certificate in African American Literature. Ms. Hunter looks forward to sharing her innate gift through books, performances, albums, sermons, and lectures in the near future. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/ecstasis monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/6081ff5d-ba83-4705-8751-c8082ff75312/Joseph_Hardy_picture_jpeg.jpeg All Pieces - Ecstasis - Joseph Hardy lives in Nashville, Tennessee, His work has been published in: Appalachian Review, Cold Mountain Review, Inlandia, Poet Lore, and Poetry City among others. He is the author of a book of poetry, “The Only Light Coming In”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1642996046708-80VP1BCTCIG3A3FG65AN/unsplash-image-xg8z_KhSorQ.jpg All Pieces - Ecstasis - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-resting-place monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/2d7166dc-ce96-4060-b94f-549f3891b0ac/patty-cannon-newphoto-1%3A24.jpeg All Pieces - A Resting Place - Patty Cannon has been a Registered Nurse at UCSF since 2001. She has worked in cardiac critical care, neuro intensive care, hemeoncology, school nursing, and currently, in research. In the early days of the pandemic, she was redeployed to the CATCH team which stands for the Covid, Assessment, Treatment, Coordination Hub. This pilot was launched to help patients get much needed procedures and surgeries. Her passion is her faith, photography, and the written word in all its forms. Her poetry has appeared in several magazines and books. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1642995514406-VTKGWQAH3Y76GXSUU0PL/unsplash-image-c_o2lRzWI08.jpg All Pieces - A Resting Place Without warning, images of you disrupt the brief quiet of my mind like storm clouds heavy with water insistent to burst upon a clear sky. And in a flash, I am flooded with memories of you holding me when I was a child. My little body and arms wrapped tightly around you like a baby koala bear while you moved from one place to the next in search for a resting place and a face. Mom, I can still hear your restless heart pounding against my ears. The deafening pain that relentlessly pursued you. Your tumultuous sea that threatened to drown me. Oh how I yearn to break through the stillness of your ashes to give you this poem and to tell you how sorry I am that my love was too fragile to carry the weight of your tears and that I pray that the infinite hole you felt in your soul, that I now feel in mine will shortly be filled by the One who has no beginning and no end. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/magic-i-was-promised monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1643248254503-ECZQ2KNY8LWH2PC7ACSI/unsplash-image-dVhM3o9BVeg.jpg All Pieces - Magic I was Promised - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/its-fine monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/8c52ed30-c9a9-4759-971a-eb5cfbfafc5c/DAE3B2E9-15E1-4C86-8295-D6213F672AA8_1_105_c.jpeg All Pieces - It’s Fine - Anna is a writer and medical student living in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She works mainly in creative nonfiction, has published an essay in Family Medicine, a poem in The Intima, and an essay forthcoming in The Examined Life Journal. In her free time, she enjoys devouring library books and baked goods, in equal measure. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1643247336688-IGW0HCUOGBLCUCT4LLEA/unsplash-image-SZF0wG5SXsU.jpg All Pieces - It’s Fine - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/michigan-is-for-lovers monthly 0.5 2022-02-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/3bb17a5b-4a75-49d8-b9fd-9480611fe414/9894BDB3-CB4B-4627-A43F-BF2DA8F9EA55.jpeg All Pieces - Michigan Is For Lovers - D.A. Russell is graduate of Arkansas State University and currently serves as an administrator for Wynne Virtual Academy. He lives in Arkansas where he and his wife are probably traveling and searching for their next favorite microbrewery. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1643246970505-RLSXSFZ9B0O6XXN114O0/unsplash-image-HCQ9e23kXCw.jpg All Pieces - Michigan Is For Lovers - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/coming-to-america monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/5a11b628-015e-49b8-b0d5-7f36daf5da38/AyotolaTehingbolaAuthorPhoto.jpeg All Pieces - Coming To America - Ayotola Tehingbola is a Nigerian graduate student in Creative Writing at Boise State University, Idaho. Her cache of drafts is of traumatic or political fiction and photo essays. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1643834035646-13JDHN97P2E4ELSIEK86/unsplash-image-GSh_PwsZsPQ.jpg All Pieces - Coming To America - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/i-was-only-five monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1644206858172-6375EBNV6M8B17DZV3FJ/unsplash-image-URRyXqhL7FA.jpg All Pieces - I Was Only Five - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/12210089-c046-4f21-91ae-3324b3fe3c62/240803874_10226467971305956_5538344263571569796_n.jpg All Pieces - I Was Only Five - Sharnta Bullard started writing poetry at a very young age. She published her first poem at age eleven. She currently works as a medical technician, but continues to pursue her passion of writing. Additionally, she also has a master's degree in Human Service Counseling. She is an advocate of helping people find their why and voice. She is currently living overseas. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/when-my-brother-speaks-for-hours-theres-something-he-wants-me-to-remember monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/fd9577c9-7111-41b2-bdbe-efdf03be8175/20130908_201511_hq.jpg All Pieces - When My Brother Speaks For Hours, There’s Something He Wants Me To Remember - Ellen June Wright was born in England and currently lives in New Jersey. She has consulted on guides for three PBS poetry series. Her work was selected as The Missouri Review’s Poem of the Week in June 2021, and recently received five 2021 Pushcart Prize nominations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1644553752083-VFZFFGQERMN20I8NWRWZ/unsplash-image-rwSWeJw9g84.jpg All Pieces - When My Brother Speaks For Hours, There’s Something He Wants Me To Remember - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/descendant-beauty monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/ae0b2fa9-b75e-4f64-b621-d01481543da7/andrey-zvyagintsev-0WyXURA7uoA-unsplash.jpg All Pieces - Descendant Beauty Speak to me descendant beauty tell me why when I look at your elongated neck and head held high with bushy hair on top I conjure thoughts of majestic baobabs why when I behold your full lips, distinct cheek bones, broad nose, and captivating eyes I hear ancestral rhythms why when I gaze at your flawless ebony skin against starched white collar I visualize unwavering courage why when I ponder the whole of you with your stately presence the poise and confidence you exude I sense a thunderous elegance No, descendant beauty do not tell me... because the truth is I already know why. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/soothing-a-broken-heart monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/4206c301-47a8-4b56-a210-f7538b4df2d3/Braxton_Image.jpg All Pieces - Soothing A Broken Heart - Lisa Braxton is the author of the novel, The Talking Drum, winner of a 2021 Independent Publisher (IPPY) Book Awards Gold Medal, overall winner of Shelf Unbound book review magazine’s 2020 Independently Published Book Award, winner of a 2020 Outstanding Literary Award from the National Association of Black Journalists, and a Finalist for the International Book Awards. In addition to being a novelist, she is an Emmy-nominated former television journalist, an essayist, and short story writer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1645558204333-7J2T6G4W16WOIH1A4LEP/unsplash-image-DR31squbFoA.jpg All Pieces - Soothing A Broken Heart - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/photographs monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/6a1c3c47-aaeb-4418-bfb4-cdb32ef5fc4c/author_photo.jpeg All Pieces - Photographs - Sharony Green is the 2020 recipient of the PEN American Jean Stein Grant for Literary Oral History. John Hopkins University Press will publish The Chase and Ruins: The Personal Hunt for Hurston in Honduras, her book on Zora Neale Hurston's visit to 1940s Honduras. A native of Miami, Florida, she teaches at the University of Alabama. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1644982193797-2JHQWJFBBTNRZX0U6XDC/unsplash-image-OxSUi-kCBhE.jpg All Pieces - Photographs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/black-lives-matter monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1645141818017-9U6ZMAZNOOUA4WGFVMLX/unsplash-image-QWHBdUQYv18.jpg All Pieces - Black Lives Matter My culture is sisterhood My culture is shared experiences My culture is nodding at a random black person in a Starbucks because we both get it My culture is accepting My culture makes “something outta nothing” as my grandma says My culture is the potent smell of hair products overtaking your senses as you’re preparing for 1st days. It’s the warm hugs my great grandmother granted me when I came to her after school It is the collard greens she handpicked and cleaned to feed our family at her table It’s the work it took to get that table My culture is in the tears we shed while watching the news My culture is countless black bodies on concrete, blood cascading from the holes in their shirt It’s the expressionless face you make as you hit the ground with that searing pain in your chest being your only thought My culture is your life, flashing by and realizing you never got to say goodnight It’s the anger flowing through our community when they’re told it was over a stop sign My culture questions our worth, “Does this ticket mean more than my life?” It’s unhealed trauma seeping through our interior causing that generational hurt It’s my mom, her mom, and her mom fighting the same fight My culture deserves to be appreciated and not appropriated My culture heals itself My culture advocates for the ones we’ve lost It challenges society and reminds you that it’s not set in stone My culture started a revolution that traveled across the world My culture brought the world together https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/ae98cd21-27c7-4c95-a0d3-0913a320f340/95D58CC4-EAE9-4BD4-8516-9E924BBE0E9B.JPEG All Pieces - Black Lives Matter - Jordan Brown is an emerging author who adores writing about the human condition and using her voice to break the stigma around certain social issues, such as the relationships black women have with their mental health. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-golden-shovel-for-langston monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1646009175904-XCACXIBYFOOO77C7JVJL/unsplash-image-TyW3S-7cNyw.jpg All Pieces - A Golden Shovel for Langston - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/plantation-lullabies monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1645382211204-4C5ND4NW5MHX7JV6W76X/unsplash-image-ZyniVuEhxVk.jpg All Pieces - Plantation Lullabies For The New Millennium [Momma Said We Standing On Shaky Ground] & Jesus Wept. - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/a5d2e11f-0caa-4593-863d-f0099149ffa6/AUTHOR_PHOTO_henry_7._reneau_jr._by_Mercedes_Herrara.jpg All Pieces - Plantation Lullabies For The New Millennium [Momma Said We Standing On Shaky Ground] & Jesus Wept. - henry 7. reneau, jr. writes words of conflagration to awaken the world ablaze, an inferno of free verse illuminated by his affinity for disobedience, is the spontaneous combustion that blazes from his heart, phoenix-fluxed red & gold, like a discharged bullet that commits a felony every day, exploding through change is gonna come to implement the fire next time. He is the author of the poetry collection, freedomland blues (Transcendent Zero Press) and the e-chapbook, physiography of the fittest (Kind of a Hurricane Press), now available from their respective publishers. Additionally, his collection, The Book Of Blue(s) : Tryin' To Make A Dollar Outta' Fifteen Cents, was a finalist for the 2018 Digging Press Chapbook Series. His work is published in Superstition Review, TriQuarterly, Prairie Schooner, Poets Reading the News and Rigorous. His work has also been nominated multiple times for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/ethereal monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/a335cb60-ac77-4ebe-b3e9-1c072cbdc928/jessv.jpg All Pieces - Ethereal - Jessica is a follower of Christ and a multifaceted creative that uses her passion for writing to communicate her unique worldview. Although she is currently a barista and server by trade, she hopes to one day publish a book and work in the music industry as a songwriter. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/ece0fe30-bcc4-4b3f-99c0-ea6e747b7615/image_50736641.JPG All Pieces - Ethereal https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/brain-freezes-in-red-leather-boots monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1649801446901-IZ0IKPFWXRTY3N1FKYIC/unsplash-image-2TZKBeXw47w.jpg All Pieces - Brain Freezes in Red Leather Booths - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/bb2e2c0f-df7e-47e3-b5ed-bf86ad6cd71e/rachel.png All Pieces - Brain Freezes in Red Leather Booths - Rachel (Ray) Epstein is a 19-year-old freshman at Temple University. She is originally from Washington D.C., and has been a passionate writer since the third grade. When she was in middle school, she was sexually assaulted by her first boyfriend, and promptly afterwards, found writing to be an extremely effective coping mechanism. She became dedicated to feminist activism, using her writing to empathize with and comfort other survivors, and for pathos in the speeches which she would present in congressional testimony in support of various bills. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/fermata monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1651688977704-LNBAUDRCEDD2HUWTGFRI/unsplash-image-ojVMh1QTVGY.jpg All Pieces - Fermata - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/2ceac810-b723-4d45-a286-88301b235686/MSB_6903_002.jpg All Pieces - Fermata - Mark Rosati, a Chicago-area playwright, is the author of 24 plays and numerous short stories, and a member of the Dramatists Guild and The Company Theatre Group in NJ. His plays have had productions and public readings in New York City, Chicago, New Jersey, Boston and Michigan. Recent productions include “Entrenched” on Audible Theatre of New York’s podcast series in October 2020, “Exposed” in 2019 at Between Us Productions’ Take Ten Festival in New York, “Duet” in Theatre East’s 5x5 Drama Series in all five NYC boroughs, “Restoration” in Between Us Productions’ Take Ten Festival, and “Extinct/Extant” at Manhattan Repertory Theatre’s February Event. His one-page play “The Sound of One Hand, Etc.” was published January 2021 by the online journal Barely Seen Poems of short plays and stories. His short story “Ditched” was published in the Canadian online literary magazine Fleas on the Dog in March 2021. Fleas on the Dog also published his short story “Last Stand” and play “Restoration” in January 2020. “Last Stand” was included in a public reading of new works on the theme of “sanctuary” by Cast Iron Theatre in Brighton, UK in June 2019. His one-act play “Our Daily Bread” received a public reading in Boston in the “Pinning Our Hopes” pre-inauguration Resistance event in January 2017. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/hometown monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1651176983412-MH1ASOYCCJC2XTJ5UVGK/unsplash-image-koe_YyHaO3E.jpg All Pieces - Hometown I fantasized about killing myself While walking with the baby Yesterday afternoon. It made me feel better Because it reminded me How temporary this was, Just as the town you’re leaving The day after tomorrow Is postcard perfect. It helped me see this city As another place With wheeling social circles That don’t know me, With nicknames and responsibilities Nobody in New York would have, With freckles and teeth and cars, With hair and veins and eyes Borrowed like sugar From their parents Two doors down, All content in a small town Ensconced in familiar nature For which they have handles, Like the sharp bend in the river And the split boulder by the point, And some waddle like librarians, And some stride like farmhands, But they’re all polite When they ask, “What brings you here?” As if I haven’t been visiting My entire life. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-psychotic-world monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/9ca0d695-871f-4a29-86ec-9d3534cb4df8/Headshot+%282%29.jpg All Pieces - A Psychotic World - Abbie Doll is an eclectic mess of a person who loves exploring the beautiful intricacies of the written word and wandering around this increasingly chaotic planet we all call home. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Writing through Lindenwood University, and her work has been featured in Cathexis Northwest Press, The Rush, OPEN: Journal of Arts & Letters (O:JA&L), among others. Follow her @AbbieDollWrites. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1650849670736-RKULN3X7DRJVYYMA9MCE/unsplash-image-_I5DYcYuo6c.jpg All Pieces - A Psychotic World - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-letter-to-ted-lasso monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1650325053895-U1Q1EP3ZC8JNCH2YTRDD/unsplash-image-1qCSGzVEKKQ.jpg All Pieces - A Letter To Ted Lasso - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/17b0dd2c-8826-4d6f-92da-5ff44091ac18/Headshot+%281%29.jpg All Pieces - A Letter To Ted Lasso - Jessie O’Dea Walker is a non-fiction writer currently based in Baltimore. She received her B.A. from the University of Richmond and is currently pursuing her M.F.A. in Creative Writing and Publishing Arts at the University of Baltimore. Jessie is a swimmer, wife, cat mother, educator, and lover of anything that makes her belly laugh. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Black Fork Review, the Under Review, and Random Sample Review. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/america monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1650305045782-YJ5C0F9LEEYR0JGNWDDX/unsplash-image-iEd01XTF_Jk.jpg All Pieces - America Forgive me, America For I have let you sin. Watched as you dropped Nuclear bombs, Atomic bombs, F-bombs on twitter. Watched as you Told my best friend To go home. Told her She cannot stay, She cannot work, In the concrete jungle Because she is from Taiwan. But still, she must change her name Yu-Chien is not American enough. America, My favorite colors Are red and blue. Do not tell me That has nothing to do With you. No, I do not want to talk about Fake news Or making you great again. I want to talk about The immigrants With burning skin And an aching desire For the American dream That you drown in tears of gas. I want to talk about how many greens You are feeding The soldiers As if they are children On the playground playing pretend. What happens when they come home To sounds of machine guns? No, I do not want to talk about The wall. Aren’t we already divided? America, We need to talk. No, this is not time for a smoke break. America, Listen! Put down the Dunkin Donuts And turn off the News. Let’s talk about 9/11 How people fell from buildings like birds with broken wings. I know, my Uncle survived But a part of him did not. America, I know you didn’t want to go to war So why did you? Do not tell me it is an eye for an eye You know better than that! America, Let’s talk about The number of Brock Turners You let roam the alleyways His pants around his ankles And her blood dripping from her thighs But she was asking for it, right? America, Let’s talk about Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland. Everything is black and white To you. Let’s talk about how history repeats itself War. War. War. America, stop spying on me! I won’t erase my poem Zuckerberg is no muse. Do not tell me what to think— I do not want your propaganda. America, China is rising. Face the music This is your curtain call. America, I do not mean to hurt you The same way you have hurt. I am a part of you, after all. But so is the single mother breastfeeding in public, The Muslim being forced to take off their hijab, The boy who loves a boy, The disabled man you call retarded, The 1,100 college students that feel a darkness That makes them dive into one. America, I do not mean to spite you, To hurt you— But I cannot love what is not love itself. America, Stop your crying. Wipe the dirt from your knees You were the one that made this mess https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/ace5549d-173c-46e8-a714-d399a89e66bb/IMG_4005.JPG All Pieces - America - Meghan Nelligan is a creative storyteller based in New Jersey with a passion for mental health awareness. Through her creative work, she touches upon personal as well as societal issues. She graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in English and a greater love for writing. Currently, she works as a freelance writer for various companies and manages her own poetry account. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-way-that-love-works monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1651012158006-BGHTD2DMXXS4PR0QXTB6/unsplash-image-yeN9XfiUafY.jpg All Pieces - The Way That Love Works - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/7cadea50-4d77-4859-8c21-cae14c07cb82/2A2A8700.jpg All Pieces - The Way That Love Works - Sara Pompeo is a writer and poet from Beverly, Massachusetts. She has been published in Red Skies magazine, Vineyard Literacy, Poets Choice, and Oddball Magazine. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/looking-for-blood-in-east-la monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1652063440730-A22L0BYFK37XNABY33OU/unsplash-image-4K6jgKr3OxY.jpg All Pieces - Looking For Blood in East L.A. - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/19c35d82-a46a-4210-802b-4735d66d0836/author_photo.JPG All Pieces - Looking For Blood in East L.A. - Alex is a journalist with background in visual art and poetry. Originally from Ukraine, he's lived in America for 15+ years. Warren Zevon, Lou Reed, Harvey Milk, Patti Smith, and Laurie Anderson are some of his heroes. His on-going love affair with freeform verse is Allen Ginsberg’s fault. In writing as in life, empathy is everything. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/16-and-not-pregnant monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/e60e2ab1-41f0-41fa-8394-c29b2149b186/_D9A7936-Print_preview_copy+%281%29.jpg All Pieces - 16 And Not Pregnant - Lindsay is a clinical psychology doctoral student who freelance writes for the joy and liberation it provides. Her creative nonfiction pieces have been featured in The Alacala Review, The Book Smuggler’s Den, Fat Daddy’s Farm and Z Publishing’s Emerging Author Series. She additionally published a poetry book entitled, This is M.E., which attempts to address the emotional toll of chronic illness. She writes to better understand the world around me and to connect with others through shared emotions when experiences don’t align. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1652908598052-E7YWCMXQP1ZHVHI7Y2CL/unsplash-image-eZzEGnQGf0s.jpg All Pieces - 16 And Not Pregnant - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/greg-allman-shows-me-something-this-morning monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1652666302725-AFE4UWURWPIKJLDB4LCI/unsplash-image-krlsGrxLa3U.jpg All Pieces - Greg Allman Shows Me Something This Morning - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/bb2a4b08-6d4a-4926-9065-eb5f5db75019/DSC_07142_2.jpg All Pieces - Greg Allman Shows Me Something This Morning - Natalli Amato is the author of two poetry collections, On a Windless Night and Burning Barrel. You can read her work here: www.natalliamato.com https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/how-to-forgo-a-best-friend monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1652305495355-9AU6MV614KJKUNB4DQ3W/unsplash-image-5uNTaV5R2MI.jpg All Pieces - How To Forgo A Best Friend - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/bf9c4dfa-e9a3-4861-b234-e1526436ddf8/JA_Headshot_2.jpeg All Pieces - How To Forgo A Best Friend - Jobert E. Abueva of New Hope, PA is Writer’s Advice winner for flash memoir and recipient of the Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation Literary Award for historical LGBTQ+ short fiction as well as two National Arts Club prizes in non-fiction. Credits include The New York Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is working on a boyhood memoir. More at www.jobertabueva.net. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-war monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1653249219232-PWUQZTQF99BXJIZ7NNPQ/unsplash-image-NO4e9-oru8Q.jpg All Pieces - The War - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/176e7cc6-2130-4a33-b689-28038b3d4b29/Maeve_Z_OConnor_Headshot_154.jpg All Pieces - The War - Maeve Z O'Connor is an artist, hedonist, and devotee of the theatrical and strange. Her work has been featured in the Fertile Ground Festival of New Works, Bridge: The Bluffton Literary Journal, and on the air on KBOO.FM radio. She draws a great deal of inspiration from her home state of Oregon, where her plays Omission and Leaving Manzanita premiered. She can often be found annotating horror novels and compiling atrocious vintage-inspired outfits. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/waltzing-in-four-four-time monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1653861205871-GOFN1LQ8MBBIJXYKBMAY/unsplash-image-etGFPzydv2E.jpg All Pieces - Waltzing in Four-Four Time - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/bd726169-2cc0-4cb6-9652-510a02b57c5a/Emma_Laurent.png All Pieces - Waltzing in Four-Four Time - Emma is a former (and sometimes) Democratic political operative. When not on a campaign, Emma is focused on writing timely pieces on culture, punk music, and spooky run-ins. After writing hours, Emma can be found mouthing off, watching baseball, and reading Stephen King. Emma is currently located in an antelope laden field in Wyoming. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/not-forgotten monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/eb5f6307-8e78-41a0-8ca6-3cd08d840ece/20954766.jpg All Pieces - Not Forgotten - Katrina Kaye is a writer and educator seeking an audience for her ever-growing surplus of poetic meanderings. She hoards her previous published writings, links to publications, and additional information on her website: ironandsulfur.com. She is grateful to anyone who reads her work and in awe of those willing to share it. Twitter: PoetKatrinaKaye Facebook: Iron & Sulfur Instagram: poetkatrinakaye https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1654468232213-FD686AJ1KGS8Z620X67A/unsplash-image-mhKKPSzSkE8.jpg All Pieces - Not Forgotten - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/unspoken monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1654107909053-KP2NZLUL4XEK45FYD9IC/unsplash-image-tQF8FCNYNrk.jpg All Pieces - Unspoken - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/35cf52ad-737a-4c6d-a87f-1ffb76e4e2a4/song_profile.jpg All Pieces - Unspoken - Julie Song is a Brooklyn-born professor by day who practices her passion for creative writing late into the night. She completed her PhD at the University of California, Irvine, where she studied immigration, race, and ethnicity. Julie is passionate about issues of social justice, feminism, and racial inequality. She lives in the Los Angeles area with her husband, son, and two furry children, Lola & Chloe. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/gambles-within-gambles monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1653511339498-IV6LW2ZKNNQ1J2H1D4KR/unsplash-image-3tMJKy7ul38.jpg All Pieces - Gambles WIthin Gambles - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/ee2cee61-7624-4bcb-8427-e7e3d093f316/WIN_20220309_20_42_23_Pro.jpg All Pieces - Gambles WIthin Gambles - Monica Viera is a Latinx author from East LA https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/evermore-house monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1655330562612-YQ6VEUEMK2MJTS839SI0/unsplash-image-FwjWUGbrxOU.jpg All Pieces - Evermore House - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/f44fd5df-20ba-4fc3-ae4a-b78a4dee7abf/IMG_5544_1.jpeg All Pieces - Evermore House - Lauren Hobson lives and writes in Portland, Oregon. Her work has appeared in Riverteeth, Entropy, and elsewhere, and she holds an MFA from Portland State University. If she isn't reading or writing, she's probably outside with her dog. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-cardinal-and-the-storm monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/52396173-8b7b-4f60-8421-3e1f1b164f07/1600194785010+%283%29.jpeg All Pieces - The Cardinal And The Storm - Natalie Bograd is a freelance writer and nonprofit communicator based in Brooklyn, NY. She has degrees in media and film studies, is proudly neurodivergent, and thrives on consuming and creating stories. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1655930589981-D2AZ75XV46641O116FXZ/unsplash-image-Quq2cbfqKiw.jpg All Pieces - The Cardinal And The Storm - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/daisies monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1655500897206-VI603551KOXXY8LPQKEX/unsplash-image-PflhlrORvx0.jpg All Pieces - Daisies - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/e722eed5-ecb4-4ae7-966b-153c7f4f845b/IMG_2142.jpg All Pieces - Daisies - Growing up in Southeast Louisiana, outside of New Orleans, Shelbey was always inspired by nature and art. She was raised among a lineage of natural storytellers on both sides of her family. As a young adult, Shelbey explored this through storytelling ethnography. She studied at the University of New Orleans where she obtained her bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Urban Society with disciplines in: education, english, and anthropology. You can read her scholarly work “Upfront: A Way of Life on Barataria Boulevard” at scholarlyworks.uno.edu Leco, Shelbey. “A Way of Life on Barataria Boulevard.” A Guide to South Louisiana: Stories of Uncommon Culture, edited by Rachel Breunlin, Neighborhood Story Project, 2017. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/breeding-lilacs monthly 0.5 2022-06-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/5d3a671f-f85b-43c1-9124-79beabaaa1f2/20211125_011713.jpg All Pieces - Breeding Lilacs - Jacob Reina is as a tutor from Fresno, California who is currently enrolled as an English student at Fresno State. His poems have been featured by Poet's Choice, Prometheus Dreaming, Allegory Ridge, and Cathexis Northwest Press. In addition to reading and writing, he loves traveling and photography. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1656300960382-OE9PT4SIEG3E9HWPSUB8/unsplash-image-D0tD6n3Ao8E.jpg All Pieces - Breeding Lilacs - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/london-calling monthly 0.5 2022-06-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/181d90df-1239-4855-903d-5f02308588ed/Jens_warm_Ireland_look.jpeg All Pieces - London Calling - Jennifer McKinney is a writer who currently resides in Austin, TX with her cat. She has been published in Soupstone Literary Anthology. In her spare time, she loves to read, travel, hang out with friends, and listen to music. Currently, Jennifer is in the early stages of writing her first mystery novel. She is visually impaired. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1656531909635-3RD6OVL4GMXP5AC737JH/unsplash-image-Mxqvo8hhY1s.jpg All Pieces - London Calling - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/laundry-day monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/2c44d3e0-0ef3-47b2-a7cd-b833a9c9c327/A6576313-0086-48E2-ADCB-D5D7C07AE273.jpeg All Pieces - Laundry Day - Audrey Lee is an Austin, TX-based writer. Her previous poem, "A Cheap Date" was published by You Might Need to Hear This in Summer 2021. Since then she has published another piece with "Poet's Choice." Audrey continues to enjoy writing poems about relationships, heartbreak, and nostalgia. She is currently in the process of publishing a chapbook of her poems. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1657409223657-01182EPJZW6KRGKC9NEQ/unsplash-image-nbKaLT4cmRM.jpg All Pieces - Laundry Day - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/lying-prostrate-in-a-strangers-dining-room monthly 0.5 2022-07-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/f3024554-2bab-4a81-9e7a-a9da2dbe6b34/Resized_20200615_165808.jpg All Pieces - Lying Prostrate in a Stranger's Dining Room - Natalie Metropulos is an Assistant District Attorney for Allegheny County, a writer, wife, and mother. She obtained her J.D. from Duquesne University and is a candidate for an MFA in Creative Writing from Chatham University, where she focuses on creative nonfiction and publishing. Chatham nominated Natalie's creative nonfiction work for the AWP Intro Journals Project Award. In addition to creative nonfiction, Natalie writes short fiction stories and the occasional poem. She's a self-proclaimed anti-social extrovert whose husband says she's funny once per quarter. For somebody who calls herself a writer, Natalie struggles mightily with writing bios for journal submissions. @beautifulprosewriter https://nmetro98.wixsite.com/website/ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1657410854467-U6A5OB87QBD3BXA91ZTH/unsplash-image-Hn4wYHOaeIc.jpg All Pieces - Lying Prostrate in a Stranger's Dining Room - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-long-walk-i-continue monthly 0.5 2022-07-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/6acb97e1-e401-4355-b693-d69d8f2e0bdf/IMG_1805.JPG All Pieces - The Long Walk I Continue - Jesse Cody, a Cambridge, MA native currently living in Santa Fe, NM, is the founder of Hike the Good Hike (www.hikethegoodhike.com), a movement and non-profit in the making. Over the last several years, he has used his experience of finding mental health and healing in the outdoors as the pillar of this organization. As someone who battled insecurity, depression, and suicidal thoughts for most of his life, this movement is near and dear to his heart. Nature came and found Jesse and pulled him out of the darkness. He finally calmed the voices in his head that he spent a lifetime battling and learned to engage with them from a thoughtful and grounded place. Seven years and roughly 9,000 miles of the trail later, he embraces life fully and feels deeply aligned with his purpose. In 2022, as a nonprofit, Jesse and HTGH will launch the Hiking the Good Hike with Jesse Cody podcast, continue to use ongoing hiking treks to raise awareness, and expand partnerships with mental health organizations/wilderness therapy programs to help their growth. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1657143757113-VJ5ALBYW0UXGEJJ7LFEK/unsplash-image-zXVk8mNl9M0.jpg All Pieces - The Long Walk I Continue - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/chamomile-tea monthly 0.5 2022-07-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/a670e06e-4fa3-40ad-bbf6-ad01c2af3ab6/Steph_Simpson.jpg All Pieces - Chamomile Tea - Stephanie Simpson (she/her) was born in Japan and was raised as a military brat. Writing helps her process her experiences as a biracial, first generation Filipina-American. Topics she enjoys exploring include navigating identity politics, mental health, and intergenerational trauma healing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1658093156054-K4K8B0MHIYKM1EIQ14YY/unsplash-image-i__rd4LWg3s.jpg All Pieces - Chamomile Tea - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/bird-brains monthly 0.5 2022-07-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1658352213530-3UNXALARBX3URKSAYMCY/unsplash-image-03NMNUqHPdE.jpg All Pieces - Bird Brains - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/6b44d28d-e0b5-489d-9425-90058e46edf1/IMG_5389.jpg All Pieces - Bird Brains - h.c.kowal is a writer who specializes in poetry and creative non-fiction. She is a contributor to the wonderful feminist UK-based magazine Heroica.co and is passionate about gender equality. She uses social platforms such at Write the World and Instagram (@hckowal) to document her poetry. In addition to her passion for words, h.c.kowal spends her time playing guitar, writing songs, and studying Creative Writing & Publishing at Sheridan College. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/naked monthly 0.5 2022-08-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1659304358517-VRB4KZKQ7F99E7O45FZA/unsplash-image-JhqhGfX_Wd8.jpg All Pieces - Naked - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/87b6d9f3-4869-480a-86af-fe744e0dd488/emma_florez.jpg All Pieces - Naked - Emma Florez is a junior studying professional writing at Champlain College. During her freshman year, she worked as a staff writer at the publication Chivomengro, where she had several personal essays published. Her poetry appears in Thanks Hun Zine and The Empty Magazine. In her free time, Emma likes to meditate, read tarot, go to yoga classes, do crafts, and dance like the wild spirit she is. You might find her in the Student Government office, working or chatting with friends, or curled up in bed with a good movie or TV show playing on her laptop. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/too-close monthly 0.5 2022-08-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1659475321380-AZYSTPE7BT0IIP2V4O54/unsplash-image-CeZypKDceQc.jpg All Pieces - Too Close - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/3a50ca87-5849-43aa-8328-839d3937dd06/B77A5994-A19D-426F-869F-A3EFD78AACAA_1_102_o.jpeg All Pieces - Too Close - Carrie Cantalupo Sharp writes poetry and flash fiction and has had a few pieces published in Pikes Peak and Poets Night Out. She is currently working on a hybrid chapbook. Carrie lives in rural Northern Michigan in the Bohemian Wood and loves to hike, travel and read. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-fat-best-friend-in-a-high-school-rom-com monthly 0.5 2022-07-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/16602bc8-4ca0-46ad-984a-5ac74684d9c4/unnamed_8.48.59_PM.jpg All Pieces - The Fat Best Friend In A High School Rom Com - Megan Williams is an MFA candidate at West Virginia University. When she isn't writing, you can find her baking, walking, or Tweeting. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/83266011-5426-4513-92aa-83ffd93263bf/jared-subia-Qxxwd3jYv0M-unsplash.jpg All Pieces - The Fat Best Friend In A High School Rom Com - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/can-you-stand-the-friend monthly 0.5 2022-07-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1658105822714-I35Y1PIKKCF99NR9TU9D/unsplash-image-2bg1jPty490.jpg All Pieces - Can You Stand The Friend - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/6a2d40ae-3ffe-4a73-989a-d92a967077ca/TY.jpg All Pieces - Can You Stand The Friend - Tyicia, (AKA Ty), entertainer, counselor, writer/ publisher and life enthusiast has her own remarkable way of connecting to different audiences thoughts, moods and inner desires in search of truth and understanding. From her joy in teaching and being a life coach to bringing intellectual reasoning and concept to things that matter most within todays society, theres no wonder why writing and blogging became second nature. Starting in her 20’s, Ty became more in tune with writing blogs the more she discovered her voice and pen is impactful and has a significant place in todays society. She is bold, confident and not afraid to shed light on even the most sensitive topics. Tyicia speaks from experience and learned observation within her life, relationships, and living in todays society. Writing is a way for her to shed light, awareness, and offer solution on all topics that impact life as we know it. If you are confident, seek understanding, and have no boundaries, Ty’s writing is just right for you. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-golden-years monthly 0.5 2022-08-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1660514325212-EHRMCZW5PFUEC1QCDON7/unsplash-image-dovgTnlZXYc.jpg All Pieces - The Golden Years - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/baaf878f-5e79-4c4b-8dce-9bea323c5000/0D350254-3870-4100-846F-299322BC342B.JPG All Pieces - The Golden Years - Ari Ontko is a freshman at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor studying environment on the pre-law track. She writes creatively in her free time and hopes to continue writing throughout her undergraduate years. She was also previously published in the American Association of High School Poets https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/every-single-second monthly 0.5 2022-08-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1659477295918-O4JLLWV7B71T6T3IXS7A/unsplash-image-M0oVPGsWk1E.jpg All Pieces - Every Single Second - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-road-to-cross-over monthly 0.5 2022-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/33a07b4f-a703-426a-8a82-20cfe4e23915/CRadkeHeadShot.jpg All Pieces - A Road To Cross Over - Chuck Radke's memoir, Stuccoville: Life Without a Net (WiDo), came out in January, 2021. His creative nonfiction has appeared in Stoneboat Literary Journal, Sierra Nevada Review, Palante, Showbear Family Circus, HASH, and others. His short fiction has appeared in The Dillydoun Review, Cold Lake Anthology, Mud Season Review, The San Joaquin Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Gulf Stream Magazine, and The South Dakota Review. He is the recipient of an AWP Intro Award for fiction and the Estelle Campbell Prize for literature from the National Society of Arts and Letters. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1659381461412-6515CVEHMQ6R3N4KTG3I/unsplash-image-7-pLwj1ZF58.jpg All Pieces - A Road To Cross Over - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/matrilineage monthly 0.5 2022-08-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1660789961655-OTSW81J3VHW4Z7MQSVSG/unsplash-image-sd-34z9t13g.jpg All Pieces - matrilineage - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/c76991e6-2f01-44a8-afb6-de13afe865da/IMG_9802.jpg All Pieces - matrilineage - Michelle is a kinky, non-monogamous, bisexual literary PR assistant and copyeditor living in San Diego. She graduated from UCSB’s College of Creative Studies in 2021, her capstone project being a body of essays and poetry on trauma, sexuality, and healing. Apart from being a dungeon enthusiast, she takes pride in writing about those dungeons and all the weird queerness she's lucky to embrace in this short life. She tweets at @michellee_rae. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/you-like-a-boy monthly 0.5 2022-09-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1662584460389-GB3P7C87V50X1EVJRDCL/unsplash-image-wNOymf_yTUA.jpg All Pieces - You Like A Boy - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/i-tried-to-use-up-all-his-bones monthly 0.5 2022-09-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1662748742272-KG8V0E7ZJPI43U622JFI/unsplash-image-CKxD_Qh6ULY.jpg All Pieces - I Tried To Use Up All His Bones - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/acb7bc25-c019-4e30-8a65-ff6bf62307be/Mikayla_.png All Pieces - I Tried To Use Up All His Bones - Mikayla Beaudrie completed her MA in English from the University of Florida. She currently teaches an array of rhetoric and composition courses at the University of North Florida. Her research centers on the relationship between blackness and nature, and the existence of a Black gothic rhetoric. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/those-who-can monthly 0.5 2022-09-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1663794636466-YJXPCF1YF3PI6RTHS8IG/unsplash-image-VLaKsTkmVhk.jpg All Pieces - Those Who Can - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/781da191-871b-42a6-8447-5fb5ad255a50/274552936_10227947333729784_7039632560026078612_n.jpg All Pieces - Those Who Can - Alan Caldwell is a veteran teacher and a new author. He has recently been published in Southern Gothic Creations, Level: Deepsouth, Backwoodsman Magazine, and oc87 Recovery Diaries (forthcoming). https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/untethered monthly 0.5 2022-09-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/bb0e5b64-81ee-4374-b938-64dc4d62586c/20220818_223508.jpg All Pieces - Untethered - Monica Viera is a Latinx author living in East LA best known for her poetry and short stories. Check out her work at www.wordsbymonica.com. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1664135704329-MF2INGMZP71CTQOKDHYE/unsplash-image-D7qzQ234N0o.jpg All Pieces - Untethered - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/prequel monthly 0.5 2022-09-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1663536296230-L40ZSW53DA7ID3FFDTZY/unsplash-image-7xP5BJ34ybg.jpg All Pieces - Prequel - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/to-the-cop-who-did-not-kill-me monthly 0.5 2022-09-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/9b4d249f-8701-4ae1-8811-b9682199e207/me_-_1.jpeg All Pieces - To The Cop Who Did Not Kill Me - George Frederick is a Chicagoan, veteran, retired Foreign Service Officer and a writer. He has attended writing programs at Stanford University, University of Chicago and the Denver Lighthouse For Writers. He currently lives between Chicago and the rest of the world. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1663186879362-VMZRVQRBP9HO4HDNT13X/unsplash-image-YYsvB-xlOVI.jpg All Pieces - To The Cop Who Did Not Kill Me - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/family-dinner monthly 0.5 2022-10-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1664741890066-4PB8R44JW2N1YFJSEGPE/unsplash-image-4aM_QE-HRLw.jpg All Pieces - Family Dinner - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/98939424-699c-41d0-a0df-73c9d5ac6449/EB985436-0984-4022-8C2C-0F1E4A22E9D1.jpeg All Pieces - Family Dinner - Kaelin Hanrattie is a twenty-year-old currently living in the midwest. She was born in Vietnam but has been raised all of her life in the US, mostly Indiana. She struggles with mental illness, chronic pain, and also understanding her identity in a conservative state. She loves photography and writing above all other interests. They keep her going day to day. She spends most of her time making art and spending time with loved ones. She is attending Purdue University this year. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/11-pm monthly 0.5 2022-10-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1665016341292-4B157FSX4ODWPLH95G47/unsplash-image-IXyQ2ySnKAI.jpg All Pieces - 11 pm - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/6484e65c-990f-44ca-8432-cae3a6558cf1/IMG_4554.JPG All Pieces - 11 pm - Caitlyn Georgiou earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in English from the University of Alabama. She is currently pursuing a PhD in literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she spends her time being bossed around by a miniature golden doodle and wondering if she'll ever get used to the snow. You can find her on Twitter at @_CatiewithaC_. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/until-im-old monthly 0.5 2022-10-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/ed3e11a2-a3ef-4413-bd44-1c9434f14c7f/kayphoto.jpg All Pieces - Until I’m Old - Kay is a composer of stories, songs and screenplays. This Los Angeles copywriter is a renaissance woman, classically trained with a cosmopolitan focus. She is a lifelong scrapbooker and has a knack for rendering images on an Etch-a-sketch. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1665368013273-OZ5O4XY22YOCBF1HTB15/unsplash-image-wpyQ_uSsQdU.jpg All Pieces - Until I’m Old - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/discussion-on-mental-illness-a-mothers-hope-for-help monthly 0.5 2022-10-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1665608120026-X4OXCK0KLM930AOHIT0U/unsplash-image-ulPAVuxITEw.jpg All Pieces - Discussion on Mental Illness: a Mother’s Hope for Help - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/miriam monthly 0.5 2022-10-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1665948743904-TSKKHKY8EN8L4QIKJSZU/unsplash-image-R_UYZvo8jSc.jpg All Pieces - Miriam - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/manicured-permanence monthly 0.5 2022-10-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1666232650091-GD4ENOBN7U29KHJKZ3OD/unsplash-image--eqGYVYEuyI.jpg All Pieces - Manicured Permanence - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/3e08ef67-8bea-46df-9dd9-eb30c822d1fd/AHall.png All Pieces - Manicured Permanence - Alexandra Hall is a journalism student based near Detroit, Michigan. She runs a music blog called Rocka Magazine in her free time and hopes to pursue a career in the music industry or in writing. Aside from her own publication, her work regularly appears in her college paper as well as the Wall Street Journal's Future View series. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/hineini-here-i-am monthly 0.5 2022-10-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/9bf8ef42-800e-4a4c-8bd4-ee0365a903ec/headshot.jpg All Pieces - Hineini: Here I Am - Katherine Orfinger is a writer, artist, and student at Stetson University, where she is pursuing her BA in English, with minors in Creative Writing and Digital Arts. She draws inspiration from her Jewish upbringing as well as her queer identity. Katherine's work has also appeared in Touchstone, Aeolus, Beyond Words (2021, 2022), and other anthologies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1666820850139-HV8VE1FJOSBN4LLQBIJD/unsplash-image-k9RVjzZaWEA.jpg All Pieces - Hineini: Here I Am - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/becoming-a-mother monthly 0.5 2022-11-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/55dbaea1-26b1-47e2-bd22-3bfb80f9e267/3A43ECDF-A945-4E74-BD06-0D56DEB67F7B.jpeg All Pieces - Becoming A Mother - Amy Beerwinkle is a 40-something (that is dangerously close to 50) wife and mom, world traveler, and lifelong learner. She just finished her MFA in Writing with Lindenwood University, and will become a working woman again this fall (after 16 years as a stay-at-home mom) as a writing tutor at a local community college. She enjoys reading, cooking, gardening, knitting, family road trips, and step-by-step painting. She occasionally gets to enjoy these things between herding her three children, nine chickens, and various volunteer roles in school and church. She and her husband do regularly find time to enjoy deliciously well-written shows, like Hacks, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Ted Lasso. She dreamed once that her tombstone said “She left nothing undone,” and that has become her directive in life: try it all! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1667423933801-PREI5VEWBF9GERKU1QBM/unsplash-image-KHDeVpytLuU.jpg All Pieces - Becoming A Mother - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-great-recession monthly 0.5 2022-11-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1667779261092-VNK880PGXEDPLX88NJFK/unsplash-image-MNXaW_ABlZY.jpg All Pieces - The Great Recession - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/90b1f97e-65e6-48ca-b34b-9d924a34d97b/_DSC3553.JPG All Pieces - The Great Recession - Coty Poynter is a writer from Baltimore, Maryland. He’s the author of two poetry books, most recently Delirium: Poems, a collection published by Bowen Press. His work has been published in Black Fox Literary Magazine, Equinox, and Grub Street. Currently, he’s the former creative nonfiction editor at Mud Season Review, a contributor for Write or Die Tribe, and a current graduate student in Towson University’s professional writing program. You can learn more about his work at cotypoynter.com https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/three-hours-in-an-onsen monthly 0.5 2022-11-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1667860008081-D2VN7YRZCGL0DKBGBN9A/unsplash-image-DQEZzyCSNaI.jpg All Pieces - Three Hours in an Onsen: My Excursion into Legal Public Nudity - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/611b6805-9d0b-46d9-9e6c-d901a0ae43c0/Headshot.jpg All Pieces - Three Hours in an Onsen: My Excursion into Legal Public Nudity - Leah Skay is an author and teacher from a nowhere town in Delaware, but currently lives in a nowhere town in Japan as an English Language teacher with the Japanese Exchange and Teaching program. She has found homes for her work in Iron Horse Literary Review, Stillwater Magazine, and Hoxie Gorge Review. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/i-dont-want-to-be-an-example monthly 0.5 2022-11-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1668392916185-KS6O8W2ZLKLWH7SR9CER/unsplash-image-9Evqbiy9Lj8.jpg All Pieces - I Don’t Want To Be An Example - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/eb033c10-c985-4d90-92c9-b510fe0d42be/RenderedImage.jpg All Pieces - I Don’t Want To Be An Example - Mackenzie Hunt is a writer, a therapist, a student and a plant mama living in Los Angeles. When she isn’t playing in her garden you can find her writing at her desk or eating (an insane amount of) seafood Alfredo pasta. Her collection of poetry, The Becoming, was published in 2018 and is available on Amazon. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-king-of-jelly-beans monthly 0.5 2022-11-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1668631581028-IURCLIBD3VRJRA3QBOUL/unsplash-image-snDUMdYF7o8.jpg All Pieces - The King Of Jelly Beans - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/d1bcd09e-1b1d-4432-951e-38b9512f0bd1/IMG_3284.JPG All Pieces - The King Of Jelly Beans - Taylor is currently studying for her bachelor's degree in applied food studies and culinary arts at The Culinary Institute of America. She loves spending time outside, hanging out with her friends, cooking and baking, reading, and playing with her dog. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-lord-works-in-mysterious-ways monthly 0.5 2022-11-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1668980046182-NGKOEN77AIIVH9BFIAIL/unsplash-image-dttmeqFUDSU.jpg All Pieces - The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/6be3526d-c544-48a9-af47-eca874653588/Author_Photo_Claire_Rosemary.jpg All Pieces - The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways - Claire Rosemary is a survivor of purity culture and Christian fundamentalism. Her art frequently explores her religious upbringing and how it intersects with her asexuality, gender, and disability. She is currently a senior at DePaul University studying animation and media. Her writing has previously been published in Women at Warp and The Helix. She is currently working on a screenplay for a feature film. She lives on the north side of Chicago where she plays chess on Sunday mornings. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/barb-wired-daises monthly 0.5 2022-11-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1669598102110-VQU03P1BDO4JNB71YX45/unsplash-image-dMh1A35w_BE.jpg All Pieces - Barb Wired Daises - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/unknowing-identity monthly 0.5 2023-01-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/19f987fc-ab65-40b1-be8f-9addc06e9d33/IMG_4518_2.jpeg All Pieces - Unknowing Identity - Nicole Favors is working to obtain her Bachelor’s Degree at Woodbury University in Professional Writing, as she is currently a Senior. She is a former library intern at the Sims Library of Poetry and is the former Editor-in-Chief of MORIA Literary Magazine. Nicole’s had blogs and book reviews published in the Sims Library of Poetry and Cultural Daily. Her poetry has been published in The Sims Library Of Poetry, The Little Girl on The Swing (2021), and the Young American Poetry Digest, Why I Love Parents (2013). You can find her on Instagram @npfavors. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1673833479822-SRQSKSX3UAR07CQIQGMK/unsplash-image-mM5IgPJHb3g.jpg All Pieces - Unknowing Identity - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/one-two-nothing monthly 0.5 2023-01-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/8c5f691c-1a78-4bcf-8f4a-e2fb9fb55d14/IMG_4961.jpg All Pieces - One. Two. Nothing. - Jon Thomas is a writer and musician based out of New York City. He is a senior Creative Writing student at Pace University, looking to make his mark on the world with his words. He is known for being the frontman of the indie rock band, Spitphyre, and the writer of the personal essay on grief, "Words Live Forever," published in Across the Margin Magazine. He currently lives in NYC with his two best friends and a calico cat named Pebbles. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1674085897931-3WOKS7EO71LHLID5DM5P/unsplash-image-qxHiV5nIOjc.jpg All Pieces - One. Two. Nothing. - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/paper monthly 0.5 2023-01-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1674425031743-UVNN3FG2BU7NAKY47MLO/unsplash-image-FvgjdZ3hjkk.jpg All Pieces - Paper - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/7673f115-a580-4b49-a144-a1596f8bdf51/DSC_0256.JPG All Pieces - Paper - Megan Froehlich is a twenty-year-old Music Business Student at Berklee Online living in New Jersey. She loves the simple things like getting coffee but also knows it can be the simple things sometimes that feel really hard, like getting out of bed or getting a slightly lower grade than expected. Through all her struggles, she finds comfort in spending time with loved ones and writing. So far, she has been published in Coffee People Zine and Bridge Ink but looks forward to publishing her novel soon. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/many-faces-of-time monthly 0.5 2023-01-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/e3a830de-a644-44c0-a154-78f687975830/kathy-stephanides-author-portrait.jpg All Pieces - Many Faces of Time - Kathy Stephanides resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband. She has two grown daughters. Since 2010, Kathy has honed into memoir/essay as a way to make sense of her life, especially with her progressive visual loss to the point of having to leave her forty-year nursing career. She finds that writing gives her catharsis and a sense of meaning in a host of challenges from a traumatic childhood and Retinopathy of Prematurity. She has been published in Uncomfortable Revolution and You Might Need to Hear This. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1674753069491-EVUFC3ALHZTPTW3VV4KF/unsplash-image-63RUBV0-zp0.jpg All Pieces - Many Faces of Time - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/campus-mirages monthly 0.5 2023-01-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1675013654863-A0Z3M6C9AGM36D96VQP6/unsplash-image-adQAb-L-YkE.jpg All Pieces - Campus Mirages - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/05c4c0a7-d84f-4137-b271-9a7a12e1235d/DD05D0E0-E299-465C-955A-410F44F259F8_4_5005_c.jpeg All Pieces - Campus Mirages - Justine Defever currently resides in Michigan and is an Associate Professor of English and Communications at Cleary University. Her poetry has been recently featured in Poets’ Choice, Sad Girls Club Literary Blog, Silent Spark Press, and Wingless Dreamer. In addition to her publication schedule, Justine placed in the 2022 Ekphrastic Poetry Contest at the Muskegon Museum of Art. During July 2022, Justine completed a residency in Edinburgh, Scotland while finishing an MFA in Creative Writing at Arcadia University. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tyre-nichols-a-black-academic-response-to-police-brutality-within-a-culture-of-violence monthly 0.5 2023-02-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1675279591776-93S6YMRO2U1V03LS8OAA/unsplash-image-T-HIsS8qymA.jpg All Pieces - Tyre Nichols: A Black Academic Response to Police Brutality within a Culture of Violence - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/10fe5611-951b-4e03-8798-b6ca8c61c5d1/16744350-1626497016073-4b5d7127c72e8.jpg All Pieces - Tyre Nichols: A Black Academic Response to Police Brutality within a Culture of Violence - Rev. Renaldo C. McKenzie, was born in Jamaica and graduated from Jamaica Theological Seminary, ordained to the Ministry of Sacrament and Word in the United Church, and after Studying Philosophy briefly at the University of the West Indies, went on to the University of Pennsylvania. where he graduated with a Master of Arts and a Master of Philosophy. He is currently a US Citizen, residing in Philadelphia Pennsylvania and is Author of Neoliberalism, Globalization, Income Inequality, Poverty and Resistance an academic text which was number one on Amazon in Deconstructivist History and Critical Philosophy. The book was reviewed as an erudite analysis of Jamaica’s economic history by Kirkus Reviews. Renaldo’s second academic book, Neoliberal Globalization will be released February 2023 which features contributions from Professor Emeritus, Martin Oppenheimer, Ph.D. of University of Penn and Rutgers University and author of several ground-breaking books. Renaldo is a Doctoral Candidate at Georgetown University and Creator/Host of The Neoliberal Round Podcast, a global podcast in News Commentary that is top five worldwide in News Commentary. Renaldo is also President of The Neoliberal Corporation, a think tank and Digital Media company that is aimed at serving the world today to solve tomorrow’s challenges through communication which is to make popular what was the monopoly, www.theneoliberal.com. You may follow Renaldo McKenzie on Twitter @RenaldoMcKenzie or on Facebook @Renaldo.McKenzie, LinkedIn @Rev.Renaldo.C.McKenzie and Instagram @RenaldoMckenzie. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-fourth-floor monthly 0.5 2023-02-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/7ab2d715-07b1-44cb-8349-1e03a4c4a149/IMG_9719.jpg All Pieces - The Fourth Floor - Trelaine is originally from Hawaii. But, true to form, he saw the line where the sky meets the sea, and it called him, so he currently lives and works in Washington, D.C. He enjoys origami and washing dishes and taking pictures of clouds and sunsets. But never sunrises (he’s not a morning person). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1675291907327-064LSTVV1CKOB234MUFO/unsplash-image-NxeLSQ6uQVs.jpg All Pieces - The Fourth Floor - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-universe-of-mortals monthly 0.5 2023-02-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1675650028617-ZA4S1R1PHE4CXJ3CEAU5/unsplash-image-N2xWGF_fssk.jpg All Pieces - A Universe of Mortals - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/78dde8f8-a837-4dcc-b73e-f335142dce4d/JJulesWebPic.jpg All Pieces - A Universe of Mortals - Jacqueline Jules is the author of Manna in the Morning (Kelsay Books, 2021) and Itzhak Perlman's Broken String, winner of the 2016 Helen Kay Chapbook Prize from Evening Street Press. Her poetry has appeared in over 100 publications including Amethyst Review, The Sunlight Press, Gyroscope Review, and One Art. Visit www.jacquelinejules.com https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/i-never-learned-what-love-isnt monthly 0.5 2023-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1675884391885-MOQBN7M347FAG23IG0Q8/unsplash-image-NErQCLz0FlI.jpg All Pieces - I never Learned (What Love Isn’t) - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/final-gift monthly 0.5 2023-02-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1b093e25-94aa-442e-b03a-d1892df32f9b/author_picture_2.jpg All Pieces - Final Gift - Tia Cowger is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University with a minor in Creative Writing. A poet since a young age, her work has been published in The Examined Life Journal, Gone Lawn, Sheila-Na-Gig, The Coffin Bell Journal, Passengers Journal, Wild Roof Journal, The Pointed Circle, The Write Launch, and more. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1676171441055-882G82YYI66GT3OQ1VJG/unsplash-image-06lv_LBX3pk.jpg All Pieces - Final Gift - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/lost-in-the-weeds monthly 0.5 2023-02-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1676491347071-1MT4YUKIEGKE4EWYOJX8/unsplash-image-b8rkmfxZjdU.jpg All Pieces - Lost in The Weeds — Loving Our Kids to Loneliness - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/9e42123f-ab0a-41dd-a7d8-a436255c05d7/ZachWynerPhoto.jpeg All Pieces - Lost in The Weeds — Loving Our Kids to Loneliness - Zach Wyner is a writer and educator who works with incarcerated youth and adults in the San Francisco Bay Area. His debut novel, What We Never Had, was published in 2016 by Rare Bird Books. He is a contributor to Tikkun, Dime Show Review, The Good Men Project, Curly Red Stories, Unbroken Journal, Atticus Review and Your Impossible Voice. He received an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of San Francisco and live in El Cerrito, CA with his wife and kids. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/pigeons-on-a-fence monthly 0.5 2023-02-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1676856849954-2ARSMHKYTDPU15AUDTYC/unsplash-image-YBShuhxLY2g.jpg All Pieces - Pigeons on A Fence - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/ae3efff7-f084-4ea4-87ab-3b19db355895/OPJha_Photo.jpg All Pieces - Pigeons on A Fence - O.P.Jha writes poems and fictions. His poems and short stories have appeared in many reputed journals including ‘The Indian Literature’, “The Daily Tribune’, “Rigorous”, “Mantis”, etc. His poems have been selected by “The Elevation Review” and “The LKMNDS podcast”. He is the author of an inspiring book “Management Guru Lord Krishna”. He has a Doctorate degree in “Translation Studies”. He has also translated books of two Turkish writers: Ahmet Hamadi Tanpinar and Yekta Kopan. Email: opjha189@yahoo.com , twitter: @OP Jha17 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/grief-ghosts monthly 0.5 2023-02-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/c6e51033-486c-4b45-b5f5-45f0ba1f359c/Lori.JPG All Pieces - Grief Ghosts - L. A. Hunt is passionate about lots of things. Her latest online search obsessions include books, coffee, zombies, outdoor living spaces, wireless bras, lip balm, zodiac signs as boba drinks, best wine patios, screenwriting hacks, doomsday prepping, urban gardening, Tokyo Owl Café and Texas BBQ. Her protagonists are almost always women, on the verge of all that life has to offer—the love, the loss, the conflict, and the heartbreak—all part and parcel of coming of age, at any age. She is an educator with twenty years of experience teaching high school English, four of those as a high school Assistant Principal. Along with an MA in Educational Leadership, she has completed her MFA in Creative Writing at the UCR Palm Desert Low Residency Program where her main genre was fiction and her cross-genre was screenwriting. She served as the Fiction Editor for the 2021 Winter Issue of The Coachella Review, the university’s literary magazine. Her nonfiction has been published by GXRL and Ink & Paper Love. Her book reviews have been published by The Coachella Review. More information about Lori and her writing can be found on her website: https://lahunt.carrd.co https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1677135983531-YJPZVAUDH37AUAJARSA8/unsplash-image-bq_GrIelfxk.jpg All Pieces - Grief Ghosts - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/do-not-open-this-envelope monthly 0.5 2023-02-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1677467331989-TXVUMT8S6OWT5UZL7G0W/unsplash-image-_AdUs32i0jc.jpg All Pieces - Do Not Open This Envelope - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/cc5411b1-0538-422b-8c15-94e17215bdb4/author_photo.png All Pieces - Do Not Open This Envelope - Luke Thomas Silliman transplanted from Sequim Washington to Chicago Illinois in 2017. Graduating with a bachelors from Columbia College Chicago in 2022. Silliman has been published in Allium Journal & more. Silliman is also a photographer & screenwriter. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/should-i-blame-the-horses monthly 0.5 2023-03-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/0949b0b5-b5a5-4c95-9062-7450044a5515/0.jpg All Pieces - Should I Blame The Horses? - Martina Amate Perez is a first-generation Argentinian-American, originally from New York City but she now resides in Englewood, New Jersey. She is currently a senior at Yale University studying Ethnic Studies. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1677713818856-W2LXVNV3BOQAOVI2QHDC/unsplash-image-GZOjwqwKgfw.jpg All Pieces - Should I Blame The Horses? - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/debris monthly 0.5 2023-03-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1678064567020-I84R9J7MZC4CJLDNAJCA/unsplash-image-Y1xi5BZGolM.jpg All Pieces - Debris - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/boy-leven monthly 0.5 2023-03-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/82b90720-f738-42aa-9309-fce51433b64c/Nora_Leven.jpg All Pieces - Boy Leven - In her career, Nora Leven was a freelance feature writer and essayist, regularly published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota Monthly, Corporate Report Minnesota, Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine, Daughter's Magazine, and many other local and regional journals. She is now retired and working on memoir vignettes that she plans to pull together in a volume. Originally from Chicago, she lives in Minneapolis with her husband and two grand-dogs. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1678303355364-J05FIVQIUDZNS47RTH7P/unsplash-image-NDDKWsrKufY.jpg All Pieces - Boy Leven - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/epitaph-for-lost-mothers monthly 0.5 2023-03-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1678654524604-W49HZ34173AFKKSOXNI5/unsplash-image-cGXdjyP6-NU.jpg All Pieces - Epitaph foR Lost Mothers - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/4a54f685-1fd3-4762-b8b8-13b210269da0/Screenshot_55.png All Pieces - Epitaph foR Lost Mothers - Mariah Swartz is a soon to be graduate of the University of Montana-Western in Dillon, MT. She is seeking her bachelor's degree in early childhood education and is searching to explore the great world after graduation. She does not have much free time to spare between being a full-time student, working full-time and working on her writing again. Reading memoirs, collecting too many blankets and relaxing at the hot springs are what she does when she does find time to lounge. Mariah was the primary editor for the literary magazine Aerie Magazine, based out of Missoula, MT., which won the NCTE award for over a decade. Her passion for poetry was sparked in high school, and she never looked back. Mariah has been published in Up North Magazine, Into the Void (2019), and Adelaide, as well as receiving an honorable mention with Scholastic. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-smokescreen-of-happiness monthly 0.5 2023-03-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/85622706-58a2-4f64-bf24-fc3a8b41fa3e/ID_Photo.png All Pieces - The Smokescreen Of Happiness - Julia Sullivan is a recent graduate of Smith College currently conducting virology research in St. Louis, Missouri. In their free time, Julia enjoys going on long nighttime walks, having headphone dance parties, traveling, improvising while cooking, and reading. Their work has been previously published on grainofsaltmag.com. You can find them on Medium @jrsullivan908. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1678916400537-SV2R8UJLL7O38ECF6IIJ/unsplash-image-K8CcKpp7z88.jpg All Pieces - The Smokescreen Of Happiness - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/sabina-nessa monthly 0.5 2023-03-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/0af1b1f2-2f11-4429-95b7-821772f46d32/PHOTO-2020-07-19-23-00-07.jpg All Pieces - Sabina Nessa - Nasha Solim is a pharmacist and writer, working in London. Nasha was previously a music TV journalist. She has also previously worked as a youth worker, working with disadvantaged youth in London. She is first generation in the U.K. She is the child of Bengali immigrants and was born and raised in London. She is an avid traveller. Her varied experiences have inspired her debut poetry/prose collection. Writing as varied as the Quran, A. Helwa, Rumi, Khaled Hosseini, Margaret Atwood, Elif Shafak, Rupi Kaur, Tupac, Santan Dave, Eminem and Lauryn Hill have all inspired her work. But she believes that the biggest inspiration is life herself. She is a social activist and is passionate about social change, politics and equity. She currently resides in her birthplace. She is publishing her first poetry collection with Arkfound. https://arkbound.com/ She is raising funds to publish this collection. Please see her Instagram @nashnashz and the link provided for Arkfound to fund her books publication if you are interested in her work! https://crowdbound.org/product/the-shadow-of-my-ancestral-tree/ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1679281637449-62LT69U15203JWASH3E0/unsplash-image-2ogkxH66ljU.jpg All Pieces - Sabina Nessa - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/birth-of-a-survivor monthly 0.5 2023-03-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1679517289567-ZRKGOUKFGU42HFS9ZTU2/unsplash-image-1vnB2l7j3bY.jpg All Pieces - Birth of a Survivor - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/c74b8986-7a8b-4999-a660-ea7d330389db/K_at_desk.jpg All Pieces - Birth of a Survivor - Kailee Venzin is a writer and Pelvic Physical Therapist. Her poetry has been published in Voices from the Attic, Sand Hills Literary Journal, and Instress Literary Journal. She lives in Greensburg, PA with her husband, son, and dog. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/where-did-you-just-go monthly 0.5 2023-03-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/de775d64-1a68-4552-bea6-ad1ff8aaa47d/Author_Photo+%281%29.jpg All Pieces - Where Did You Just Go? - Maggie Bowyer (they/them/theirs) is a poet, cat parent, and the author of various poetry collections including Allergies (2023) and When I Bleed (2021). They are an essayist focusing on Endometriosis, chronic pain, and trauma. They have been featured in Bourgeon Magazine, Capsule Stories, Plainsongs Poetry Magazine, The Abbey Review, Troublemaker Firestarter, Wishbone Words, and more. They were the Editor-in-Chief of The Lariat Newspaper, a quarter-finalist in Brave New Voices 2016, and a Marilyn Miller Poet Laureate. You can find their work on Instagram and TikTok @maggie.writes. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1679670250692-FSHPBHJF1ZWOZXX3FH6J/unsplash-image-le5_KDf5x7s.jpg All Pieces - Where Did You Just Go? - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/myopia monthly 0.5 2023-03-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/73c4eeed-1040-49d0-9dc7-6ba0f4118676/Screen+Shot+2023-03-29+at+7.20.01+PM.png All Pieces - Myopia - Kiley Woods is a creative writing major at Eckerd College on Florida's Gulf coast. She has designed and published two books of poetry and her work has been published in diet water, Pomegranate Lit, Portals Magazine, and elsewhere. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1680142297109-T9TL8BLCHPYJ7TPBE67K/unsplash-image-NmPpz1jA_JE.jpg All Pieces - Myopia - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-kind-of-darkness monthly 0.5 2023-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/dfe7188a-e7b1-4516-8045-71a5c4ecd161/Margaret_Marcum.JPG All Pieces - A Kind Of Darkness - Margaret Marcum lives in Delray Beach with her three cats, Angel, Adam, and Alice. She recently graduated from the MFA program in creative writing at Florida Atlantic University. Her literary interests include ecofeminism and healing the collective through personal narrative. Her poems have appeared in Amethyst Review, NonBinary Review, Scapegoat Review, October Hill Magazine, Writing in a Woman’s Voice, and Children, Churches, and Daddies, among others. She was a finalist for the 2021 Rash Award in Poetry sponsored by Broad River Review. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1680485568102-4H88NP9BN3FJ5PV6NH8V/unsplash-image-1jkQi8hgTaw.jpg All Pieces - A Kind Of Darkness Rough hands rubbing unwelcome on my inner thigh felt kind of good. The scent of burning baby cow’s flesh masked in golden barbecue sauce still smells kind of good. After they took the upper hand of me and then left I still felt a kind of love for you. We pollute our senses in search of something great guzzling down milk and whiskey turning wine into more, stacking another stone on walls of misery between us and divinity and go to sleep dreaming it’s all still a kind of good. Even though the forests are naked shivering, the seas drowning, and animals imprisoned, it’s all still a kind of good. There’s a child screaming to unravel our minds and realize it’s only still a dream—we can wake up now. Instead we pull the covers over our eyes and mind, comfortable in the dark. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/for-baby-dykes monthly 0.5 2023-04-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/f68d5248-79a2-45ea-8f6f-e3d35888b2d7/E690B0B2-D2EE-4CB0-AD7E-96698BF353B8.JPG All Pieces - for baby dykes - Skylar Miklus (they/them/theirs) is a poet and bookseller living in White River Junction, Vermont. They earned their B.A. in Philosophy from Dartmouth College. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1681091560321-8NDP3I1SO883JDZM20RV/unsplash-image-rtdH3_6f5w8.jpg All Pieces - for baby dykes - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/blue-hair-dye monthly 0.5 2023-04-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1681348668893-YKENHBXSU4FLOFHTPNE5/unsplash-image-iHgiO1TPncQ.jpg All Pieces - Blue Hair Dye - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/ae374b14-6866-46fc-9c6c-0fca18468499/Picture1.jpg All Pieces - Blue Hair Dye - Rachel Richmond is a senior at Hollins University majoring in English. She is an editor for Gravel magazine, and spends her time writing and spending time with her dogs. Her work has been seen in American High School Poets: Just Poetry anthology, as well as a Hollins University anthology about mental health. She writes as a form of healing, as well as as a passion. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/close-up monthly 0.5 2023-04-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1681689541455-YOTWPE832L1Q4QMHZW1B/unsplash-image-zwPYmB1GlNE.jpg All Pieces - Close Up i am but a speck miserable and small a piddling novelty of leftover crumbs blown away in a solitary breath of air but this body is also made of a thousand dainty specks even smaller than this sad stuff called me a dress of convoluted little atoms genes that only fit me connected by stems and ideas ladders of sweet misery teaching me to fall in love with myself all over again but even in love i am still falling down rabbit holes burrows of defeat wondering to myself: when will smallness equate to the endless possibility to grow? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/83794a3a-0ad3-43cd-8f5a-3c39bbfcd440/author_photo+%282%29.jpg All Pieces - Close Up - Nikki Howard is a graduate from Wittenberg University. She lives in Ohio with her partner, six cats, and three-legged chihuahua. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/entry-point monthly 0.5 2023-04-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/a746c76c-d09e-44db-ab1d-41f84260a121/Shovan-Photo.JPG All Pieces - Entry Point - Laura Shovan is an author, educator, and Pushcart Prize-nominated poet. Her chapbook, Mountain, Log, Salt, and Stone won the Harriss Poetry Prize. Her work appears in journals and anthologies for children and adults. Shovan's award-winning children’s novels include The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, Takedown, and Sydney Taylor Notable A Place at the Table, written with Saadia Faruqi. She is a longtime poet-in-the-schools for her state arts council and teaches at Vermont College of Fine Arts. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-walls-watch-abuse monthly 0.5 2023-04-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/ddd0688e-5def-481b-9f82-a7b4c32540a2/Erin_Olds.jpg All Pieces - The Walls Watch ABuse - Erin Olds is from Cleveland, Ohio and is currently an MFA candidate at the University of South Florida. She is working on an essay collection reflecting on lessons she has learned while being a twenty-first century vagabond, and poetry collection about different species of trees. Erin has released an album, American Dream, in 2020, and an EP called The Quarantine EP in the same year. In 2022, Erin was the recipient of the First Year Writing Excellence in Teaching Award. When not writing or teaching, she can be found painting murals or performing music. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1682294245399-8RQP5VOKQ5WMKCHHGW24/unsplash-image-G_rm_PmZy3I.jpg All Pieces - The Walls Watch ABuse - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/during-the-turning-point monthly 0.5 2023-04-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/9454e6d9-3f85-4472-9638-b1f66ba23ceb/0FD8F099-F3A5-464D-BD80-863900938F31.jpeg All Pieces - During The Turning Point - Melinda Charlesworth is a writer, coach, parent of three (one of each) and resident of country Victoria (Australia) on the lands of the Dja Dja Wurrung peoples. She is a recovering health professional, greedy reader and curious observer of people and the strange things they get up to. Melinda writes about community, belonging and human doings. She blogs at http://komunikas.com.au/ https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1682543237248-MNC90Y45OMEWDII1EN5E/unsplash-image-3kBtYrZ0-hw.jpg All Pieces - During The Turning Point - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/an-hour-into-the-miss-americana-documentary monthly 0.5 2023-05-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1682957186903-VDY527X50MH4JZADO0KW/unsplash-image-dOCjH4GNxj0.jpg All Pieces - an hour into the miss americana documentary you were sitting in the passenger seat of a car. alternating between looking at the camera and looking out the window. but no matter where your eyes landed i could feel the shame burning inside of them. it’s the same regret that grew in my chest as my parents asked: how long has this been going on for? ever since mirrors became cruel things carved to cut through skin and numbers. i remember seeing the time that evening; it was 10:35 pm as i watched you admit to the sin of starvation, and i could’ve sworn my phone screen was glass. and you were looking straight through it. speaking to my empty body as if you could see me losing 450 calories on a dusty exercise bike pretending i ate more than a single piece of fruit for breakfast. forget about food - a voice whispers. all that matters is pedaling until you become 2-dimensional. a piece of paper to fold and draw on. i wonder if your voice told you to forget too when the glossy cover of a magazine read “Taylor Swift: 18 and Pregnant?” you were only 3 years older than i am now. i was 1 when you stopped eating, and you were 31 when i shoved my finger down my throat. nothing came up. but i wonder if we have the same look in our eyes when we step on the scale, knowing no matter what number it wraps around our waists, we’ll still never be small enough. and i’ll never have that kiss that saves me from hunger. but i hope one day you’ll write a song about the bright and burning spotlight on your stomach. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/it-could-be-worse monthly 0.5 2023-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1683159811348-YQLWHHCPONN4V3A8E8LY/unsplash-image-K5j1KgecVC8.jpg All Pieces - It Could Be Worse - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1ff66fdc-e584-4b49-b780-8ddb32b55c18/Claire_Murphy_-_Profile_Image.png All Pieces - It Could Be Worse - Claire is a recent graduate of Santa Clara University with a passion for journalism and writing, as well as studying the integrations between research and historical analysis. Claire is based in Austin, TX, where she works for a start-up called StoryFit -- a software company providing solutions for the entertainment industry through collaborative storytelling. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/so-we-can-stay-like-this-forever monthly 0.5 2023-05-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1683502880507-RMD8L93F4UP1QEC6JQ2N/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - so we can stay like this forever - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/3308d673-01eb-4d62-88ac-b3f787a29237/Picture1.jpg All Pieces - so we can stay like this forever - Rachel Richmond is a senior at Hollins University majoring in English. She is an editor for Gravel magazine, and spends her time writing and spending time with her dogs. Her work has been seen in American High School Poets: Just Poetry anthology, as well as a Hollins University anthology about mental health. She writes as a form of healing, as well as as a passion. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/my-new-years-resolution-no-more-dieting monthly 0.5 2023-05-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/9894327f-1995-4ca2-a043-d0d6446d7e51/22.jpeg All Pieces - My New Years Resolution: No More Dieting - Konrad Ehresman is an emerging author and spoken word poet currently residing in San Francisco where he is earning his MFA in Writing. Some of Konrad's works can be found in: "AMDA Ink", "Bridge" by Bluffington University, "Awakenings Literary Journal", and the poetry collection "Found A Proverb." When Konrad isn't frantically typing away he can be found reading anything and evereything he can get his hands on and baking excessive amounts of bread. You can find him on Instagram at @KeepingupwithKonrad https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1683665133265-GORZIPLFJP1OVRMR7USY/unsplash-image-geM5lzDj4Iw All Pieces - My New Years Resolution: No More Dieting - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/my-mother-in-the-afterlife monthly 0.5 2023-05-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/ee7f5faa-557e-4c0b-9b95-d74cc6c57506/Adrienne2012LRC_copy.jpeg All Pieces - My Mother In The Afterlife - Adrienne Pine’s creative nonfiction has appeared in Feminine Collective, Masque and Spectacle, You Might Need to Hear This, The Good Life Review, The Sheepshead Review, Carte Blanche, Gravel, and many other publications. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1683753795338-TEA547TUED942F1ZQLBM/unsplash-image-iSyyY1GfYSw.jpg All Pieces - My Mother In The Afterlife - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/last-rites monthly 0.5 2023-05-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1684071669300-SBF9N40PDNJXWOIESR7Y/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Last Rites - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1684071936179-MCBU7EJ25CKYYVE276VJ/unsplash-image-Cv1IZqKJQzU.jpg All Pieces - Last Rites - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/db408a18-7e54-45cc-9ddd-8f53cab87c1b/0.jpg All Pieces - Last Rites - Piper Summer is a young poet from Phoenix, Arizona, who currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts. She is an undergraduate student studying writing and philosophy at Simmons University. When she’s not writing new poems, you can find her petting a cat, reading, or looking at vintage photos in antique shops. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1684072008900-BSF0AFNOMP0OCI7UY2IE/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Last Rites - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/an-elegy-for-the-stranger-who-bore-me monthly 0.5 2023-05-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1684367253806-SZHV6RQM1UYMAQYXYK24/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - An ELegy For The Stranger Who Bore Me - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/hairy-regime monthly 0.5 2023-05-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1684698271639-OMLP5CLPKTKO1TE72FEL/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Hair Regime - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tuesday-night monthly 0.5 2023-05-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/10c1228a-5849-45c6-9666-b89deeb0af57/Courtney_Pic.jpg All Pieces - Tuesday Night - A lifelong writer, Courtney has had several short stories published in her county’s monthly magazine. Favorite topics of hers include: parenthood (she is a mom to three boys, a 7 year old and 1 year old twins), and running (she is a 41-time marathon finisher.) After getting out of an abusive marriage, journaling has provided Courtney with clarity, closure and assistance in making sense of her experiences. As a Recreation Supervisor for a thriving Parks and Recreation Department, Courtney has skill in communicating with the written word. From policy and procedure manuals to Gold Medal award applications, her writing has propelled the Department forward. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1684964981534-BPIKIUG207MT3RW0K4Z5/unsplash-image-hluOJZjLVXc.jpg All Pieces - Tuesday Night - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/an-old-kind-of-mad monthly 0.5 2023-05-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1685334965651-D9PWNVGJN9M4TOYN08GW/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - An Old Kind of Mad - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/d23af4bb-2044-480e-b5dc-53f274948b79/tempImageDU4eEY.gif All Pieces - An Old Kind of Mad - Jeff Bender is a writer/artist who writes about life and has a life that is about his art. While the two skills often intersect, both reflect a zeal for the spontaneous, the curious and most things that are breathing. Always supplementing his stories with constructions and collages, his artwork is held in collections both public and private, both regionally and internationally. He holds an MFA in printmaking from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and a BA in Art from the College of Wooster. Web: Jeffmbender.com Podcast: Knee Deep https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/one-of-those-people monthly 0.5 2023-06-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1685560232909-ET9LC5FKTUONYNRR5XDQ/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - One Of Those People - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-yellow-color monthly 0.5 2023-06-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/001613da-290f-4b8a-b47a-a275c9c598cb/Kaitlin_Kerr.jpg All Pieces - The Yellow Color - Kaitlin A. Kerr-Heidenreich is a nurse/nurse educator, actress, model, and writer. She holds degrees in both English Literature and Nursing. Much of her work grows out of the reality of living with a rare chronic pain disorder and finding true meaning in art, beauty, and connection with others. Some of her recent work can be found in Pif magazine, Cathexis Northwest Press, Haunted Waters Press’ online showcase: SPLASH!, Sons and Daughters magazine, and the Voices from the Attic anthology. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1685907728873-YYVLDILOMN9XDIU6RKQZ/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - The Yellow Color This was you: Painting the L-shaped foyer in our tiny Cape Cod home, as your forehead hit ceiling slopes, and brushstrokes bled with the yellow color I’d picked out at the store. This was you: seen by all as impossibly good So loyal and so admirable– to stay with a woman so sick. Our nearly decade-aged portraits speckled with floral flecks of yellow- Were the tiny summer blooms a clue- or rather, omen– for those with eyes to see? This was you: Trapped in your own sickness: bred of a religion forged to warp your mind into a tool to frighten me, while still baking, for me, tiny perfect macarons tinted with the yellow color. This was you: Incapable of fighting for me or us or anything. While I signed papers, and you locked doors, Sending emails back and forth to divide meaningless trinkets. And miles away, I screamed into a pillow, buried under blankets in my childhood home. These walls were once a shade of yellow, too– just a bit bolder, at my teenage request. This is you: Raising your glass at a party, or so I was told, and laughing with my friends, toasting the end of alimony– its taste, bitter and bilious in my mouth, I was just as eager to spit it out, wipe it away. Long-unmoving and unmoved, thin film dissolves above what spreads within, between, beneath. And in the dark, your fingers softly crush what they could not possess. This has always been you: Your beer, your heart are both – The yellow color. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/on-speaking-of-the-dead monthly 0.5 2023-06-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/79c819df-b705-46e2-9e5a-2b17958e32e1/IMG_0089.jpeg All Pieces - On Speaking Of The Dead - Fran has a Creative Writing MA from Lancaster and his fiction and poetry has been published in Litro, A New Ulster and The Honest Ulsterman. His non-fiction has been published in the London Magazine and on the BBC and in the Belfast Telegraph. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1686174765169-P4BJU60T9JA0H09EGBHR/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - On Speaking Of The Dead - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/kyle monthly 0.5 2023-06-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1686528300990-PW1K0E8D08PGRJ5PP513/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Kyle - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/b6097cce-1656-4a88-80d5-5d7294853c60/pic.jpeg All Pieces - Kyle - Shanna Williams lives in San Francisco, CA. She likes wearing rings and over-easy eggs and lying to people. Her recent publications include Slipstream Press, trouble maker fire starter magazine, and Weasel Press. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/my-fathers-typewriter monthly 0.5 2023-06-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/2d09d22f-5992-4ee3-9ca9-1cb33c9e4ef4/img_1_1675085850975.jpeg All Pieces - My Father’s Typewriter - Jennifer Elmslie is a writer from Aberdeen, Scotland. She has studied creative writing at the North-East College and loves to write short stories and has one flash fiction published in Tiny Molecules. This is her first personal essay. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1686774331521-WLQP769168FW9JSVOV88/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - My Father’s Typewriter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/cinnamon-hockey monthly 0.5 2023-06-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/90edbab0-f820-4070-9481-bf8237dfee4d/Dylan_James.jpg All Pieces - Cinnamon Hockey - Dylan James is an emerging writer and Ohio University alumnus based out of Columbus, Ohio. His fiction and poetry has appeared in Rivanna Review, Metonym Journal, Unstamatic Magazine, and more. Find him on Instagram @dylanthomasjames https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1687145340584-CTV0RUX6PLIWLFEMKSPM/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Cinnamon Hockey - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/my-great-awakening monthly 0.5 2023-06-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1687379912881-67VCNSNJ80Y3N2TX9BC3/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - My Great Awakening - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/2377a172-3a35-4f5f-aa21-9480d640da20/image0_17.jpeg All Pieces - My Great Awakening - Nathan Corrál (he/him) is a queer, Chicano writer, and editor at Statement Magazine. He is a first-generation undergraduate student pursuing his bachelor's degree in English at Cal State Los Angeles. Nathan is a featured writer for the Words Uncaged Program. His creative nonfiction has appeared in “Cultural Daily.” https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-homeless-man-and-the-baby-shoe monthly 0.5 2023-06-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/00411958-a1e0-48ae-97fd-405e0a5d5a03/D1641671-11CD-4DE7-8C7C-F5FDB10D25ED.jpeg All Pieces - The Homeless Man And The Baby SHoe - Patricia Cannon has been a Registered Nurse at UCSF since 2001. She has worked in cardiac critical care, neuro intensive care, hemeoncology, school nursing, and currently, in research. Her passion is her faith, photography, and the written word in all its forms. The complete first drafts of some of her diary entries which include “The Homeless Man and the Baby Shoe,” were donated to the National Women’s History Museum. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/dfcb523b-c339-4113-b235-ad897bb84afd/Picture1.jpg All Pieces - The Homeless Man And The Baby SHoe - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/speak monthly 0.5 2023-06-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1688011731788-YQIMJ23RM7OEO8MWD5FR/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Speak - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/91fc2b2e-af15-49bb-a92f-30db8e0bcb34/BioPhoto.jpg All Pieces - Speak - Heather Wallace is a former special education teacher who now devotes her time to writing and teaching yoga. She lives in Asheville, NC with her husband and two spoiled cats. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/affirmative-action monthly 0.5 2023-07-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1688411317614-FWL1LM3LPMSWMEP4WD01/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Affirmative Action - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/7b8fd4d2-4ce4-42cc-ab74-692164862aa6/tempImage6Tmks2.gif All Pieces - Affirmative Action - Alexis De La Puente was born in raised in Flushing, Queens to an immigrant family. Alexis poetry shifts wildly from romantic escapades to the Latino Diaspora and struggles of adolescence and being the son of immigrants. Alexis graduated from Stony Brook University with a Bachelors in Philosophy and is currently attending the University of Virginia Post-Bacc Program. Alexis hopes to one day combine literature and medicine to provide a new method of healing for immigrant and underrepresented communities that seek to focus on helping heal intergenerational trauma. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/intergenerational-translation-remembering-the-sisulak-family monthly 0.5 2023-07-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/e876ebcd-c9bf-473f-b722-8c83157ac53f/unnamed2.jpeg All Pieces - Intergenerational Translation: Remembering The Sisulak Family - Make it stand out Litka, late 1990s https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/f17ea79d-1fff-4ff3-9a6d-fd66da9475b0/fam.png All Pieces - Intergenerational Translation: Remembering The Sisulak Family - Make it stand out From left to right: Grandpa Louie, Great-Grandmother Helena, Second Cousin Viola, Great-Aunt Helena, Great-Grandfather Stefan in Austria c. 1952 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/84966c4b-3d64-4f2b-a9a1-264f56c78ab2/gramgramp.png All Pieces - Intergenerational Translation: Remembering The Sisulak Family - Make it stand out Grandma and Grandpa at their wedding reception, 1959 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/dfb74ad0-cdf6-4815-aa00-859303889808/gramflowers.jpeg All Pieces - Intergenerational Translation: Remembering The Sisulak Family - Make it stand out Grandma in a field of sunflowers, Slovakia, 1990s https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/4a5908cd-fb5b-4e09-9090-087151dfb2ac/Headshot+%283%29.jpg All Pieces - Intergenerational Translation: Remembering The Sisulak Family - Hannah Samuel holds a BA in English with a Creative Writing emphasis from Hendrix College in Arkansas. She writes poetry and creative non-fiction essays surrounding her personal identity and heritage. Her work has appeared in the student-run magazine The Aonian volumes 62, 63, and 64. She currently resides in Bentonville, Arkansas. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/eb369057-b2a6-43d6-80ce-66b08a2b07ae/grandpa.png All Pieces - Intergenerational Translation: Remembering The Sisulak Family - Make it stand out Grandpa at my parents’ wedding, 1992 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/325ef863-7a18-46cc-bad5-cbaa4cf06364/grandma.jpeg All Pieces - Intergenerational Translation: Remembering The Sisulak Family - Make it stand out Grandma with a monkey at a work party, 1990s https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/efe4e0c5-108d-4119-b42d-f25b04045968/unnamed.jpeg All Pieces - Intergenerational Translation: Remembering The Sisulak Family - Make it stand out Grandpa with Penny, 1990s https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/regret monthly 0.5 2023-07-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1688947185239-OLDIER5IHRPWWJ47HQOF/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Regret - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/998f30eb-e9da-4d98-a6d6-ddab645bf9a9/vo_photo.jpg All Pieces - Regret - Vanessa Ogle is a poet and writer. Her work has most recently appeared in the New York Times and The Nation. She received her MFA from Hunter College in 2020. You can find more of her work here: https://www.vanessaoglewrites.com/ https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/crocuses monthly 0.5 2023-07-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1689208765398-M10I1BHJF1HBAHXE8YKA/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Crocuses - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/074f7049-b81c-4c94-b8b9-4cf4a2cc0f2e/DSC_1066.JPG All Pieces - Crocuses - Jacqueline Goyette is an English teacher and a new writer from Indianapolis, Indiana, currently living in the small town of Macerata, Italy. Her work has previously been published in Cutbow Quarterly and Cosmic Daffodil Journal and is forthcoming in two other publications. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/bagel-seeds monthly 0.5 2023-07-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1689560452222-7V0FRYF4B2EUO5NB9U63/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Bagel Seeds for just a moment, let me into the bagel so i can find the seed where my mother and i are just two rocks speaking serifs on a cliff. just give me one moment, and before we tumble off the crust and fall, i’ll tell her i drank sauvignon blanc on the airplane and it didn’t taste as bad as i remember when i was seven and dipping my pinky into the pool of her wine glass. and i used the airplane bathroom without you holding me safe by the knees. i guess i finally learned there’s no real danger of falling in and tumbling into the sky like icarus coming unraveled while his father simply watches. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/e92c0c35-83c2-466a-873c-7a33673aa382/IMG_3015.jpg All Pieces - Bagel Seeds - Faith Eberz is an Orlando-based writer, currently pursuing her Bachelor’s in English at the University of Central Florida. She primarily writes literary fiction and confessional poetry. Her work has been featured in Young Writers USA, Wingless Dreamer, You Might Need To Hear This, Cypress Dome, and Room Magazine. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/daniel monthly 0.5 2023-07-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1689808087520-RW8PDSBOEXUBLOK3ACJ1/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Daniel - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/57e5d3fe-6d28-4b7f-b05d-e1862b46cab8/jeff_image_3.jpg All Pieces - Daniel - Jeff Hyndman is a retired IT person and part-time dog walker. He lives in an Atlanta suburb with his wife, Ellen, their dog, Carmela and their new cat, Chelsea. who pretty much runs the show. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-songs-they-sang monthly 0.5 2023-07-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1690169472899-KQ6VKM376DD9PJDIA2ZA/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - The Songs They Sang - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/6c2f920b-b04d-47d1-9613-ad8d24f05ab7/ww.headshot2.jpg All Pieces - The Songs They Sang - Walter Weinschenk is an attorney, writer and musician. Until a few years ago, he wrote short stories exclusively but now divides his time equally between poetry and prose. Walter's writing has appeared or is forthcoming in a number of literary publications including Lunch Ticket, The Carolina Quarterly, The Worcester Review, Sand Hills Literary Magazine, Meniscus, Waxing and Waning and others. He is the author of "The Death of Weinberg: Poems and Stories" (Kelsay Books, 2023). More of Walter's work can be found at walterweinschenk.com. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/fried-day monthly 0.5 2023-07-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/4730dce7-cc27-46d6-a0db-bc4685c1049d/IMG_2494.jpg All Pieces - Fried Day - Keri Ault is a social worker who lives in Portland, OR. Her work has appeared in the Meadowlark Reader, Cirque Journal, and Proof That I Exist. When she isn't working or writing, she is trying to spend time outside, even when it's raining https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1690414755068-HAV70H667MBBQJYIL6F0/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Fried Day - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/awakening monthly 0.5 2023-07-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1690760458723-XE6UVOO4NE0YNUQT6S8S/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Awakening She never realized how much she wouldn’t miss the slow ooze down her throat. Never thought she’d wish she could recall the last time she’d filled the hole in her self with the cold spirit of bubbly, smoldering sweet until it wasn’t. She didn’t know she was saying goodbye that day or night or noon she lifted a trembling elbow for the last time. Didn’t intuit in that inky moment unmemorable that she’d postpone her return day by teetering day. She couldn’t estimate the years of days it would take to bid farewell to her best friend, the demonic love of her life and death choices. Never willed, rather chose to act out the gut wretch of separation. She felt the onset of freedom second by second, relentless as a metronome, until a moment was an hour, a hour a day, a day, a day until came her surprise awakening— like red bird chirping in a gift bag or warm buttered toast. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/in-company monthly 0.5 2023-08-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1691002654308-043DKLO3FCUPIQ589GAR/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - In Company - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/total-lunar-eclipse monthly 0.5 2023-08-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1691337568552-SFC6DJ2MDHWHHONV6U2I/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Total Lunar Eclipse How I slept through every night in the cleanness of dark & stars out an open window of a cabin at summer camp, not like now when I lie wake at 3:00 am in a murmuring house, the way it breathes with the wind & the mice that gather courage in the darkness. So, I was awake for it last night. Through my window I watched it disappear. The moon gathered me up, stood me nearly naked in front of its shadow self, brought me back to awe. How I saw something vanish but knew it was still there. The way they carried out your body & delivered your ashes in a fastened plastic bag inside the wooden box. The moon, how it returned. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/0eee98d1-9325-4bb0-b9dc-210f775a36ec/62488714-5C8F-458D-B416-7702FD97C707_1_201_a.jpeg All Pieces - Total Lunar Eclipse - Sarah Dickenson Snyder lives in Vermont, carves in stone, & rides her bike. Travel opens her eyes. She has four poetry collections, The Human Contract (2017), Notes from a Nomad (nominated for the Massachusetts Book Awards 2018), With a Polaroid Camera (2019), and Now These Three Remain (2023). Poems have been nominated for Best of Net and Pushcart Prizes. Recent work is in Rattle, Lily Poetry Review, and RHINO. sarahdickensonsnyder.com https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-kids-are-watching monthly 0.5 2023-08-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1691612848443-2UR5UL0B0ISNNVNUSY2Y/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - The Kids Are Watching - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/86d12a2e-79f2-48ee-9809-dc7c835b4d9e/unnamed.jpeg All Pieces - The Kids Are Watching - Madalyn Carter is an artist and writer from Southern California. She recently graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Rhetoric and Composition, and she feels strongly about utilizing her skills and capabilities to help shape a more ethical and compassionate world. Madalyn believes that our ability as a species to create, express ourselves and share knowledge is exceptional, and that because we can, we ought to. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/after-the-kiln monthly 0.5 2023-08-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/989c902a-eb28-49ad-9760-fdab33f3bdc2/Mac_Gellner_Author_Photo.jpg All Pieces - After The Kiln - Mackenzie (Mac) Gellner born in New Westminster, British Columbia, completed her Bachelor of Communication in journalism at Mount Royal University. Her articles have been published in CBC News, the Florence University of the Arts magazine Blending, The Calgary Journal and The Reflector. Her photography has been published in Kelp Journal and soon WA Magazine, and her poetry published in You Might Need To Hear This and, in January 2024, Beyond Words Literary Magazine's anthology. Mac also, during field school in India, co-produced a short documentary on self-expression with the Sri Ram Ashram. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1691956469851-L6T59CNAMMKE2GHS71PN/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - After The Kiln - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/sip-of-soda monthly 0.5 2023-08-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/2492e90f-dc02-4fa9-b659-c8dddcab9323/profile.jpg All Pieces - Sip of Soda - "Sip of Soda" details Bianca's experience surviving six weeks and multiple surgeries in the hospital after coding twice during a scheduled surgery. In this piece, she plays with writing in-scene and with flashbacks to showcase her decade-plus long struggle with hereditary alcoholism. This story is full of pitfalls and triumphs and was the only "rock bottom" scenario that finally inspired Bianca's sobriety. She is now working on her memoir in graduate school, speaks publicly about her experience, and loves teaching an introductory English course at the University of New Hampshire. She pushes her students to reach for their darkest spaces to write about when teaching the Personal Narrative Unit; she teaches them that writing can be survival. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1692230143502-1SL06220JEZ3CXCXTOTJ/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Sip of Soda - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/mudbirth monthly 0.5 2023-08-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/e411bb7d-d052-4a54-97d0-55a291174b69/Steve_Fay_picture_1.jpg All Pieces - mudbirth - Steve Fay's collection, "what nature: Poems" (Northwestern UP, 1998) was a finalist for the annual poetry book award given by The Society of Midland Authors and was cited by the editors and board of the Orion Society as one of their 10 favorite nature/culture-related books of the 12-month period in which it appeared. His work has recently appeared (or is forthcoming) in 3rd Wednesday, Leon Literary Review, Spoon River Poetry Review, Tar River Poetry, TriQuarterly. and other journals. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/9a9eac3f-30e5-47ba-a0f3-e0fa62d63958/Steve+Fay_235206720006_adj_across+the+roadside+ditch_.jpg All Pieces - mudbirth - Make it stand out “across the roadside ditch” - Steve Fay https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/forgiveness-journey monthly 0.5 2023-08-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1692746244393-L1EQ9D4TVRAMIS4A6N8N/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Forgiveness Journey - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/7803cb87-2960-4595-81de-753963f92457/Screen+Shot+2023-08-22+at+3.59.51+PM.png All Pieces - Forgiveness Journey - Judith Pratt’s experiences-- actor, director, professor, fundraiser, and freelance writer--inspire her novels, stories, and plays. Most recently, her stories were published in “ Fresh Words,” "The Gateway Review" and "Fifth Di" magazine. They have also appeared online in a number of publications. Her novel, "Siljeea Magic", was indie-published in 2019. Her current novel is under contract with Pegasus. In 2019, her play “Maize” was selected for the Louisiana State University SciArts Prize. Her play “Losing It” was published in Best Ten-Minute Plays of 2020. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/always-carol monthly 0.5 2023-08-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/864ad091-51c7-410a-9657-75a55cf72875/Jeff_Bender_photo_portrait_.jpg All Pieces - Always Carol - Jeff Bender is a writer/artist who writes about life and has a life that is about his art. While the two skills often intersect, both reflect a zeal for the spontaneous, the curious and most things that are breathing. Always supplementing his stories with constructions and collages, his artwork is held in collections both regionally and internationally. In addition to his experience as a feature story writer, he has been published in numerous journals including Club Plum, Embers, Press Pause, and The North American Review. He holds an MFA in printmaking from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and a BA in Art from the College of Wooster. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1693171432511-DV4JXFJC8KNEOM765C23/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Always Carol - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/whats-in-a-home monthly 0.5 2023-08-31 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1693416226491-BAQFD88X0077CZ3VE64A/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - What’s In A Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-never-paradigm monthly 0.5 2023-09-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1693871728812-IWKBTQOPWE20SABL0PHE/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - The NEver Paradigm - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/f9d803fa-b42a-45cd-bc89-af289f44bef7/ReadingCotW-02.jpeg All Pieces - The NEver Paradigm - Randy Kraft writes fiction and post book reviews, and occasionally coaches aspiring writers. She holds a Masters in Writing and an MBA. She is a retired freelance journalist for regional and national magazines, as well as an education, business, culture and city reporter for newspapers. She has published three novels and a collection of short stories, and several stories have appeared in literary magazines. Follow book reviews and literary blog at randykraft.substack.com. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/rescue monthly 0.5 2023-09-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1693773878636-5S749E7F3SEO1C4VHKY8/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Rescue - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/db57f00a-e80b-4d22-8043-4133a1344da5/esnyder-headshot.jpg All Pieces - Rescue - Ellie Snyder is a poet and copywriter for a nonprofit helping people, pets and the planet in Boise, Idaho. Read her work in New Note Poetry, Fauxmoir, Pinky Thinker Press and forthcoming in The Blood Pudding and Tiny Seed Journal. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-rhyme-for-loss monthly 0.5 2023-09-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1694393497814-9BPOTCU228U2BDBVY37E/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - A Rhyme for Loss - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/in-her-coat monthly 0.5 2023-09-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1695235895846-OOJCP458J1RWDKOUCFXZ/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - In Her Coat: Echoes of Life - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/f13fbc84-4370-4ecc-96fd-cdb27a7b4166/Anne_jpg_final.jpg All Pieces - In Her Coat: Echoes of Life - Anne E. Beall is an award-winning author whose books have been featured in People Magazine, Chicago Tribune, Toronto Sun, Hers Magazine, Ms. Career Girl, and she’s been interviewed by NBC, NPR, and WGN. She has also published in several literary journals including Minerva Rising Press, The Raven’s Perch, and Grande Dame Literary Journal. She received her PhD in social psychology from Yale University and is the founder of the strategic market-research firm, Beall Research. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/seventh-grade-pretending monthly 0.5 2023-09-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1694622127532-PQHUIQFBBFII1O4FEY4E/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Seventh-Grade Pretending - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/b5bc61de-b825-4a30-b74d-ba55ff215b5d/Trelaine_Ito_Profile_Picture.jpg All Pieces - Seventh-Grade Pretending - Trelaine is originally from Hawaii, but, true to form, he saw the line where the sky meets the sea, and it called him, so he currently lives and works in Washington, D.C. He enjoys origami and washing dishes and taking pictures of clouds and sunsets (but never sunrises because he’s not a morning person). https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/fried-green-tomatoes monthly 0.5 2023-09-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/555a206b-1f51-4d80-8168-1f5418ed18ea/33D54A52-E81C-4E65-A93B-BB7C159BD00C.JPG All Pieces - Fried Green Tomatoes - Holly Smyth is an 18-year-old aspiring writer from Fairfield, CT. She is a first-year student at Lafayette College and is studying International Affairs. She writes in all genres but has a focus in poetry, with common themes revolving around love and relationships, familial tensions, mental health, and women's issues. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1694991246309-P4KPYAHRYPEWNMCCX6UP/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Fried Green Tomatoes - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/mix-for-reaching-the-end monthly 0.5 2023-09-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1695602172379-1UOP9I1LIC49U62XGGWV/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Mix For Reaching The End… - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/homework monthly 0.5 2023-09-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/8786d726-97b3-4f92-8c14-f8ff9d6a357b/Sue.JPG All Pieces - Homework - Susan Nickerson’s short stories have appeared in several publications including Not Your Mother’s Book . . .On Being a Woman, ArtAscent Gold Writer, Creative Writing Institute’s Anthology, Palm Prints Literary Journal, Compassionate Friends Magazine and Open Minds Quarterly among others. Chapter One of Susan’s novel, Amazing Grace, placed third in the Writers-Editors International Writing Competition. Born and raised in Salem, Massachusetts Susan, now retired, lives in Florida with her husband Pete and their dog Sadie. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1695836451650-SHX0QSRGLFA59UH5X1JA/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Homework - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/elena monthly 0.5 2023-10-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/6515935e-487a-4e22-95a4-d54b26402f1f/JSkidalski.jpg All Pieces - Elena - British, but not truly; single mother and teacher of literature, who scribbles (constantly) for muses who prefer shorter sentences than the ones that come naturally to her. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1696201575334-VSU107ZR06KNHV18CDPB/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Elena - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-big-heart monthly 0.5 2023-10-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/f85800cf-02ee-44de-bfc8-ef13e504c5c3/tempImage5nofEl.gif All Pieces - A Big Heart - Lauren Cuttler lives in San Francisco. She is a recovering school-aholic with numerous degrees, including an MFA in playwriting from San Francisco State, a Masters in Library and Information Science from San Jose State and a Masters in Nursing Education. Lauren's play "Home Visit" was professionally produced by Theater Rhinoceros and an excerpt from her play "Learning to Swim" was printed in Transfer Magazine. After 48 years happily working as a nurse, Lauren retired this year making it impossible to ignore the persistent feeling of wanting to write that has dogged her ever since her first grade teacher gave her an extra gold star for a poem she wrote about a clown. When Lauren isn't writing, she is listening to short stories and novels on Libro.fm while hiking or she is watching British murder mysteries with her family and dog. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1696442130044-T0FMNATTX7VUOQAHEVK3/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - A Big Heart - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-blame-game monthly 0.5 2023-10-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/6901ebab-566c-4839-a08f-8237b5fbbc5c/md2.jpg All Pieces - The Blame Game - Amanda Hawk lives in Seattle between the roaring planes and concrete jungle. She splits her time with her son and friends, and the city’s neon lights. She has been published in Volney Road Review, Drunk Monkeys Literary Journal, Eye to the Telescope and the winnow magazine. Currently, she is one of six Puget Sound writers to have their work featured in City of Edmond's Poet's Perspective for 2023. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1696807145556-OFWESC18QAKR1RFPVVVG/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - The Blame Game - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tenor monthly 0.5 2023-10-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/dc77cf1d-f2ce-4550-8bf0-d939d2aea4e5/KBP_author_photo.jpg All Pieces - Tenor - Kathryn Bratt-Pfotenhauer is the author of the poetry collection Bad Animal (Riot in Your Throat, 2023) and the chapbook Small Geometries (Ethel, 2023.) The recipient of a Pushcart Prize, their work has been published or is forthcoming in The Missouri Review, The Adroit Journal, Crazyhorse, Poet Lore, Beloit Poetry Journal, and others. They’ve been nominated for Best New Poets and Best of the Net. They attend Syracuse University’s MFA program and serve as Director of Development & Publicity at BOA Editions. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1697037304827-W76FZ6HXVXZXIZAGP7BX/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Tenor - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/no-coincidence monthly 0.5 2023-10-12 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1697079049335-LPN5MUNSRSBET10S9PQ8/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - No Coincidence - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/6520221c-8f63-41d0-9a11-271f3ba4a816/IMG_0417.jpeg All Pieces - No Coincidence - Suzanne Noll is a writer, singer, actor, retired organizational change agent, gardener, mother and grandmother. She now lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, among herds of deer, butterflies, hummingbirds and people. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/arriving-with-a-difficult-to-pronounce-last-name monthly 0.5 2023-10-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/ddc60fea-2d23-4244-848a-0fc4135fc5f8/_MCP4185.jpg All Pieces - arriving with a difficult to pronounce last name - Natasha Deonarain is the author of two chapbooks, 50 études for piano (Assure Press Publishing) and urban disorders (Finishing Line Press). She’s the winner of the 2020 Three Sisters Award by NELLE magazine and Best of the Net Nominee by Rogue Agent Journal. Her work has been featured in numerous print and online poetry journals. She lives in Arizona, depending on weather patterns, and sometimes practices medicine. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1697395787826-NK3DZ6ZQP3IA79VQ2Z3M/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - arriving with a difficult to pronounce last name - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/pax-adams monthly 0.5 2023-10-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1697687824182-WV013I5AFO681TOCDKHB/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Pax Adams - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/09419ef2-c81d-4b7a-943d-a8564db3b4bd/AF5DB5F1-9AA4-4DBA-9315-7F35BB8FD74A.JPEG All Pieces - Pax Adams - Carrie is a Human Services professional who has spent her career working with individuals on the autism spectrum. After roughly twenty years in the field, she is shifting her focus toward writing. A lifelong Midwesterner, Carrie lives in rural Wisconsin with her two teenage children. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/thief-cheater-liar monthly 0.5 2023-10-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1698004244358-LU38RFLFT3CXYXEWQ14W/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - thief / Cheater / Liar - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/dear-mauricio monthly 0.5 2023-10-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1698280348214-65Q4YEZCZ7D68ZGM083P/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Dear Mauricio - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/729442ec-775e-4918-a699-7edf707ea745/tempImageZeljzU.gif All Pieces - Dear Mauricio - Kelsey K. Coletta is a Rhode Island based licensed clinical therapist with a habit of partially filling notebooks. While she started writing at age 8, she has only recently started working on her memoir about her year as an exchange student, the chaos that came with it, and her journey to understand what happened. She holds a Master's Degree in Social Work and is an outspoken advocate with a love for all things policy. When she's not at work or lost in the pages of her journal, she can be found harassing one of her cats or watching terrible reality TV shows with her husband. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/i-could-write-of-ghosts-as-dead-things monthly 0.5 2023-10-30 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1698607834516-BV61UDX6XZOPU7A8D6E2/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - I Could Write of Ghosts as Dead Things - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/writing-a-refuge monthly 0.5 2023-11-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/347515c9-fc2e-4558-b095-be719e9ccdc6/ACS_0001.jpg All Pieces - Writing A Refuge - Becky A. Benson's work has appeared in print, online, and various television and podcast outlets. Becky holds a degree in psychology and works for the National Tay-Sachs and Allied Diseases Association as the organization’s Family Services Manager. Find her at beckyabenson.com. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1698882232710-BKED3463GPIL7UAGHS71/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Writing A Refuge - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/eggshell-heart monthly 0.5 2023-11-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1699240058971-NSGRWYNBQUQMKZMWYYCD/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Eggshell Heart - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/2c913934-5b7f-416d-b2b5-d3e2bca54f71/03caseybottononov14.jpg All Pieces - Eggshell Heart - Casey Bottono is a poet, writer and workshop facilitator in Cornwall, England. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Professional Writing from Falmouth University. Her work deals with themes of disability, grief and mental health, and has been published in the Hard Times Happen anthology of writing on mental health (Black Pear Press, 2021) and the Lapidus International journal of writing for wellbeing among other publications. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/time-piece monthly 0.5 2023-11-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/8d34eb08-20bd-43ef-9aca-10954caaedc9/biopicAQ.jpg All Pieces - Time Piece - Adam Que is a writer from Union City, New Jersey. He was competing and working to become a professional fighter/athlete until he rediscovered a need to share his raw creativity. This has led him down a wondrous, as well as, beautifully arduous artistic path. He has most recently appeared in Half and One, Kelsey Review, The Decadent Review, New Note Poetry, The Abstract Elephant Magazine LLC., and Carcosa Magazine. When he is not writing, he’s walking the concrete forest enjoying himself a bit of street photography. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1699832850181-G2O85XEXIN3MNMHAQ42E/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Time Piece - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/ghost-stories monthly 0.5 2023-11-16 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1700097050005-J894R08JIW44B0WPEK4X/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Ghost Stories - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/separate-bedrooms monthly 0.5 2023-11-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/2d0a6bde-04f9-4dc4-b1c8-bf3627ebab0f/Daun_Daemon.jpg All Pieces - Separate Bedrooms - Daun Daemon’s stories and poems have appeared in Flock, Dead Mule School, Third Wednesday, Typehouse Literary Review, Remington Review, Deep South Magazine, Into the Void, Amsterdam Quarterly and more. Her memoir in poetry, A Prayer for Forgiving My Parents (Kelsay Books), was published in July. Daemon teaches scientific communication at North Carolina State University and lives in Raleigh with her husband and three cats. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1700428868809-54LHOWHP4LUCVDZ23S79/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Separate Bedrooms - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/ashes-of-apollo monthly 0.5 2023-12-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1701640560946-D83BBHJQOSAHUD0JHHM9/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Ashes Of Apollo - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-people-please-goes-to-therapy monthly 0.5 2023-12-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1701907840666-IQGSI284Z7XDM99BEXXC/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - A People Pleaser Goes to Therapy - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/twelve-nice-things-said-to-me-under-the-circumstances monthly 0.5 2023-12-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1702521137926-KJE5XV12RFIDGZVHXGK7/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Twelve Nice Things Said to Me, Under The Circumstances - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/7efd55de-f8b2-428a-ac4a-b6a32469ef4e/author_pic.jpg All Pieces - Twelve Nice Things Said to Me, Under The Circumstances - Julie Paul is the author of three short fiction collections, The Jealousy Bone (Emdash, 2008), The Pull of the Moon (Touchwood / Brindle & Glass, 2014), and Meteorites (Touchwood, 2019), as well as the poetry collection The Rules of the Kingdom (MQUP, 2017). The Pull of the Moon won the Victoria Butler Book Prize, and The Rules of the Kingdom was a finalist for both the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize and the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. Her personal essay “It Not Only Rises, It Shines” won the Edna Staebler Personal Essay Award from The New Quarterly. She lives in Victoria, BC, Canada. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/the-new-me-is-the-old-me monthly 0.5 2023-12-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/232c176c-b9b3-4572-bd3b-cccee3c5a48e/me.jpg All Pieces - The New Me Is The Old Me - MerriLee Anderson is a psychologist and writer. She enjoys hearing others' stories and writing her own. MerriLee and her wife, Jill, live in Dallas, Texas. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1703173542888-2PMPSU4N2KEA125YV63A/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - The New Me Is The Old Me - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/pocket-change monthly 0.5 2024-01-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/2da76110-9fc5-436a-8f82-26d28ee6946b/Audrey_Towns.JPG All Pieces - Pocket Change - Audrey Towns, a literature and composition instructor in the heart of Fort Worth, Texas, dismantles the nature/culture and human/nonhuman dichotomies in her prose and verse. New materialism her muse, landscapes her canvas, and the connection between the human and nonhuman her essence. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1704730941200-PJ9E0HL8JKXJFC7B6QAH/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Pocket Change - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/unpacking-the-rape-kit monthly 0.5 2024-01-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1704946116038-WBG41H43A4QNUE6QO9YD/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Unpacking ‘The Rape Kit’ - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/f5361661-41b3-4a28-bcb5-81dc2b6578b9/better_headshot.jpg All Pieces - Unpacking ‘The Rape Kit’ - Katherine Orfinger is a writer, artist, and graduate student at Rosemont College, where she is pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing. Her work has appeared in Beyond Words, Outrageous Fortune, Touchstone, and others. Katherine draws inspiration from her Jewish faith and Floridian hometown. She currently resides in Pennsylvania with her partner and cat. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/if-this-is-my-bbl-so-be-it monthly 0.5 2024-01-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1705558192125-SQJFS6EQS50TO7SJ75GU/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - If This is My BBL, So Be It - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/a-military-funeral-in-oklahoma monthly 0.5 2024-01-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/44b531a9-212f-4694-832c-39ae42164cf1/IMG_1007.jpg All Pieces - A Military Funeral IN Oklahoma - Trish is a published author and freelance writer whose writing focuses mainly on mental health, parenting, and her Asian American culture. You can view her published writing on her website: https://trishbroome.com. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1705883778901-XIEHI6ICGR1KRP71CCUD/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - A Military Funeral IN Oklahoma - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/oh-the-places-you-will-go monthly 0.5 2024-01-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/62aae0a0-f1a7-45db-b54a-048f58aca7dd/IMG_0624.jpeg All Pieces - Oh The Places You Will Go - Melissa Jordan Willis writes and draws to process her own struggles with the fractured communication that comes from loving people who are non-verbal, have autism, heroin addiction and schizophrenia. She earned her B.A. at the U.C.L.A. School of Fine Art and Architecture in 1991, and continues to draw and collage daily, sharing work on her blog, Motherland: Survival in the Real World, https://herointalk.blogspot.com/ Her Prose piece entitled “Two Worlds” was published in a 2018 issue of Desert Magazine. Her drawing “Flannel” will be published in an upcoming issue of LitBop: Art and Literature in the Groove, and other artwork will be published in upcoming issues of The Woolf and Indianapolis Review. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1706157016685-F5EJFY6MEBC3YYF57KS0/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Oh The Places You Will Go - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/dear-words monthly 0.5 2024-01-29 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/cccc583a-d54d-45a7-a617-e142e342fad3/image-asset.jpg All Pieces - Dear Words - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/upon-arrival-at-fort-comfort-i monthly 0.5 2024-02-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/5786c095-603b-464e-93e4-bfd765395393/Headshot_for_Bio_original.jpg All Pieces - Upon Arrival At Fort Comfort I. - Ellen June Wright is an American poet with British and Caribbean roots. Her work has been published in Plume, Tar River, Missouri Review, Verse Daily, Gulf Stream, Solstice, Louisiana Literature, Leon Literary Review, North American Review, Prelude and Gulf Coast, and is forthcoming in the Cimarron Review. She’s a Cave Canem and Hurston/Wright alumna and has received multiple Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1707099750651-IL4WNZXLTTDGWV73NMC6/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Upon Arrival At Fort Comfort I. - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/dark-eyed-babies-of-the-world monthly 0.5 2024-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1707368801460-ZMNMVREMJEEASP1XYMFO/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Dark-Eyed Babies Of The World - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/2fd29d9a-f8f1-413b-927b-6eaa547c6bcc/IMG_2935.jpeg All Pieces - Dark-Eyed Babies Of The World - Melanie S. Smith is a 2019 graduate of the GrubStreet Memoir Incubator; her work has appeared in Ruminate, The Common, and Cagibi, among others, as well as the yearly anthology of notable writing by women, Ms. Aligned. She has recently finished SCAPEGIRLS, novel about the legacy of intergenerational family trauma, and a collection of essays entitled DRAW KNIFE. She teaches writing and counter story at Boston University. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/your-estranged-daughter monthly 0.5 2024-02-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/c859e555-08c6-4b6d-befe-238841a4d65a/IMG_1447.png All Pieces - Your Estranged Daughter - Caitlin Chandler (she/they) is a writer from Suffield, CT, where she spends her free time hiking and playing with her two cats Willow and Bella. She has been previously published in the pride edition of The Sour Collective zine with her piece Refracted Light. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1708923708300-KN6N0AEJLITY78JUMTL2/image-asset.jpeg All Pieces - Your Estranged Daughter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/category/November monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/June monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/September monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/September%2723 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/September%2722 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/Blackhistoryspecial monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/March%2723 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/March monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/Summer monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/December%2721 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/December%2723 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/December monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/October monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/New+Year monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/October%2723 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/Nonfiction monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/Poetry monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/Latest monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/July monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/October%2722 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/February monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/October%2721 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/February%2723 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/November monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/February%2724 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/April%2722 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/blackhistoryspecial monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/April%2723 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/July%2723 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/April monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/August monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/May%2723 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/May%2722 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/July%2722 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/June%2722 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/June%2723 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/Blackvoices monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/August%2722 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/November%2723 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/January%2724 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/January%2723 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/August%2723 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/November%2721 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/January%2721 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/stories/tag/November%2722 monthly 0.5 https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/about-1 daily 0.75 2021-07-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1592366839982-2BXKG61R87RSXVJXZV5H/image-asset.jpeg About - Write the words you need to read An online journal and community publishing personal essays and poems. We are looking for stories to bring others together. Stories that will make us laugh and make us cry, inspire us to be better or pick up the pen ourselves. We are looking for poems written in the notes app on your phone and stories in the journals you swore you didn’t keep. Follow us on Instagram at youmightneedtohearthis_ https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/home daily 1.0 2022-07-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/d68c2c46-dce8-4507-8738-3bd9cee4c4fc/headimage2.jpg Home - you might need to hear this Empowering writers through the words they need to write. Inspiring readers with the words they might need to hear. https://www.youmightneedtohearthis.com/contribute daily 0.75 2023-04-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ee71f267ef3874c512d389f/1592368000198-418BBL9T19HS6G85K2CM/image-asset.jpeg Share Your Story - SHare your Story At one point or another, everyone has a story that someone needs to hear. If you have a piece of writing you think someone would benefit from reading and would like to be a part of our online community, please submit. Poems and Creative Nonfiction Personal Essays are welcome. Essays should be between 500 and 3,000 words and submitted in some sort of word or google document. Please submit a third person author bio and photo. All submissions can be sent through Submittable.