For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Sonali Kolhatkar @ruwithsonali.bsky.social wrote about getting a preventive double mastectomy because she carries the BRCA1 gene mutation and has a family history of breast and other cancers, including the complex aftermath: opensecretsmagazine.com/p/breast-can...

I was so happy my copy of Less Is Liberation by Christine Platt arrived a day early, another bonus of pre-ordering from @bookshop.org. As someone who constantly feels overwhelmed, I’m so looking forward to reading this and learning how to manage my tendency to overcommit.

Yesterday was a day of several firsts: first essay in The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com, first time getting gas by myself, first time my daughter pet a bunny or goat or horse at a farm tour. Read the essay at www.wsj.com/personal-fin...

For @nytimes.com I wrote about why and how people splurge on experiences and things, and how to splurge responsibly. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/b...

A hoarder doing a decluttering project? Yes! I put all my feelings of overwhelm lately into this post that I hope signals the start of something new and positive. rachelkramerbussel.substack.com/p/my-year-of...

What’s the difference between being alone and loneliness? Discuss it in Open Secrets Book Club on memoir in essays The Loneliness Files by @athenadixon.bsky.social published by @tinhouse.bsky.social. You can ask Athena questions on September 30 at 8:30 pm ET: opensecretsmagazine.com/p/open-secre...

Judith Lam Tang writes in her essay “I Was a Bigoted Speech Therapist” about how she went from thinking “How can we make them refer to a single person? It’s too confusing!” to teaching her students about gender respectfully without relying on stereotypes. opensecretsmagazine.com/p/bigoted-sp...

Anyone else feel guilty for not working when you’re on vacation, or just me? My latest The ADHD Diaries column @opensecretsmag.bsky.social is all about that: opensecretsmagazine.com/p/is-adhd-wh...

Watch our Q&A with Open Secrets EIC @rachelkramerbussel.bsky.social and writer Brenden O'Donnell on his experience dating a gay Catholic celibate man he met on Grindr, and what he learned from the relationship: opensecretsmagazine.com/p/interview-...

Brief life update: I'm not here much because I'm running after my adorable but energetic daughter most of the day. But I'm still writing my newsletter, running @opensecretsmag.bsky.social & plotting projects in between meal planning & swimming lessons & making up songs about filing baby nails.

Have a personal essay about your hard truths and deepest secrets, or about a pivotal moment in your life? Or flash nonfiction about one of your possessions? Check out our latest writing guidelines and submit by September 30! Please share widely. opensecretsmagazine.com/p/lit-mag-pe...

Few sights make me happier than a wavy guy. Even made up for going to a “farmers market” where there was only one produce vendor and I’m pretty sure they don’t grow their own produce.

This @ejdickson.bsky.social article on “SkinnyTok” influencer Liv Schmidt is excellent, sad, & infuriating. As someone whose best friend died of anorexia complications, it’s hard to read about eating disorders, but so important. She didn’t think she’d die, but she did. www.thecut.com/article/infl...

What’s it like to be a liberal Tesla owner in Brooklyn who opposes Elon Musk’s political positions and is now despised for her vehicle choice despite making the purchase in 2020 for environmental reasons? Find out in @sammithewriter.bsky.social's bold essay. opensecretsmagazine.com/p/brooklyn-t...

Looking forward to talking to Darcey Gohring at wisdomandwords.substack.com today at 1 pm ET about essay writing and Open Secrets Magazine! Subscribe to Wisdom and Words to watch and check out all of Darcey’s other great interviews!

Had to snap a quick selfie before one of the biggest days of my life. See you later at Open Secrets Live!

So excited to interview Jane Pratt on Saturday and host over 40 speakers! Click through or see the thread for details. There’s a few tickets left!

Reading books to my baby that I loved as a kid is soul-affirming in a way I didn’t expect. We only got through 2 page before she wanted to flip back to the cover but I feel much calmer after spending a few minutes with Frances. The Linwood, NJ library has a whole stack of delightful oversized books

Sen. Cory Booker has the floor.

Reminder that I'm teaching a workshop next month and there are three spots left if you want to join us! writingworkshops.com/products/a-g...

How fun is this book arch at the Linwood, NJ public library? Looking forward to my next visit!

I wrote for @literaryhub.bsky.social about how I killed my book group (accidentally!) lithub.com/can-writers-...

Do you have a personal story you want to tell about how your life has been influence by the climate? Here's our personal essay guidelines. Deadline is May 31, 2025, and we pay $50/essay: opensecretsmagazine.com/p/paying-cal...

What does it feel like to live through multiple smoke seasons in the Pacific Northwest? @ambrown.bsky.social answers this and more in his essay about the personal impact of climate change for our Climate vertical: opensecretsmagazine.com/p/smoke-seas...

I wrote this ode to @thatemilyfarris.bsky.social ADHD memoir I'll Just Be Five More Minutes last year. Seemed Women’s History Month worthy for @opensecretsmag.bsky.social since it’s part of my professional history. Likes/comments/shares are appreciated. opensecretsmagazine.com/p/adhd-memoi...

Taking a moment to celebrate a milestone: The storytelling summit @opensecretsmag.bsky.social Live I organized is now sold out! For those not attending, some panels will be record for future podcast release. Stay tuned!

This week at Open Secrets Magazine, Alissa Bader Clark shares her experience caring for aging, difficult parents and what she learned from her mother’s prom dress: opensecretsmagazine.com/p/midlife-ca...

The US recently deported a child with brain cancer WHO WAS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN Now we’re deporting doctors who are here legally to perform organ transplants IN DEFIANCE OF COURT ORDERS The Trump administration is spitting on the Constitution Judges must hold them in contempt of court

I’d much rather be “too sensitive” than whatever the fuck has happened to half of humanity.

CW: Cancer. I’m honored to have published this essay by @writingelizabeth.bsky.social today at @opensecretsmag.bsky.social, about her daughter’s cancer treatment and her special stuffed bunny. opensecretsmagazine.com/p/mother-sic...

New Yorkers, I’m reading TONIGHT, Monday, March 10 at 7:30 pm at Jake’s Dilemma on the Upper West Side (430 Amsterdam between 80th and 81st) at the Must Love Memoir reading series! More info in my newsletter: rachelkramerbussel.substack.com/p/live-event...

I wrote for Harper’s Bazaar about my true love, power-lifting! & why one of the only ways I can find calm is by risking physical injury 🏋🏻‍♀️ www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/feat...

Back in the mid-20th century, the FBI could place an individual under surveillance solely for being LGBTQ. This is what enabled the anti-queer witch hunts of the McCarthy era. Now, DHS permits surveillance of LGBTQ people again. Just being queer makes you a suspect. www.advocate.com/politics/dhs...

"Her first name and date of birth are the only words beneath the photo I snapped of her. I don’t want her to see her weight listed every time she looks at it, even if it’s just a few pounds." @rachelkramerbussel.bsky.social

Next Monday, March 10 at 7:30, I’m reading on the Upper West Side at Jake’s Dilemma, 430 Amsterdam Ave, for the reading series Must Love Memoir. This event got moved from March 11th to the 10th. Details below and you can find out more at mustlovememoir on Instagram or krystalmarie.substack.com/about

I was honored to be on podcast Freelance Writing Direct hosted by @estelleserasmus.bsky.social. We discussed writing and editing personal essays and my work as editor of @opensecretsmag.bsky.social and May 3 NYC personal storytelling summit Open Secrets Live! estelleserasmus.com/128-crafting...

What an absolute ghoul.

BIG NEWS: @mindahoney.bsky.social and @deeshaphilyaw.bsky.social will be our closing keynote speakers Saturday, May 3 at personal storytelling summit Open Secrets Live! Plus Jane Pratt, memoir authors, magazine & book editors! 12 tickets left! Agenda & discount: www.eventbrite.com/e/1140713949...

Billionaire owner of Washington Post seizes control of opinion page. Will focus nearly exclusively to promote rightwing libertarianism. "Viewpoints opposing those pillars will be left to be published by others." Democracy Docket will expand its pro-democracy opinion section. www.democracydocket.com

Early in desegregation white Americans were faced with the prospect of integrating their beloved public pools with Black people Instead of sharing the space, they paved over them, destroying their joy to sate their hate All so we can keep hating Black people

A friend called Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy “quite possibly the worst film I’ve ever seen” and that immediately made me want to see it to decide if I agree. Something to think about the next time your writing or art or anything else gets a scathing review.

NPR host Adrian Ma's girlfriend, Kiah Duggins, was aboard the American Airlines flight that crashed into the Potomac River. He spoke to NPR about that night and about his late girlfriend.

Battling a cold is never easy, all the more so with taking care of a baby. But one upside is I’m even more determined to take good care of myself, stay hydrated, and rest my body and mind so I can be as healthy for my baby’s sake (and mine and my household) as possible.

I never thought I’d be someone who forgets to eat breakfast, but then I became a work from home mom who races through pretty busy weekday mornings. I was up around 3:30 thanks to insomnia and after a very early morning snack, I forgot I made a smoothie till I went to refill my water bottle.

Medicaid covers nearly HALF of all births in America and provides care for millions of moms, kids, and caregivers. But House Republicans want to slash $880 BILLION from the program. That means more uninsured families and worse health outcomes. We can't let that happen.

Continuing our string of personal essays on relationships at Open Secrets Magazine, @funkybrownchick.bsky.social shares what it's like to be a single Black woman dating in Europe in this week's essay: opensecretsmagazine.com/p/single-bla... Comments, likes, and shares help us reach more readers.

This is quite a thing to find 18 paragraphs down in a story. wapo.st/4hW2xGI

Tupelo Press’ response to new NEA restrictions is inspiring and should serve as an industry standard. @tupelopress.bsky.social

Book bans impact public libraries & bookstores, but it’s school libraries where they are rampant ❤️‍🩹 Many kids are unable to make it to the public library. They can’t drive, often times the library isn’t in walking distance. It’s not that their grown-ups don’t want them to be library kids. 🧵 1/11

I’m reading on March 11 at 7:30 at Jake’s Dilemma in NYC for the reading series Must Love Memoir with Jenny Higgins, Molly Roden Winter, Charles Bock, Sarah Gormley, and series cohost Krystal Marie Orwig! Looking forward to this! I miss live events. Details: www.instagram.com/p/DGLKpYeOp9...