I’m terrified of drowning, so I’ve avoided water most of my life. Before I turned 40, however, I decided to face my fears and take swimming lessons. My coach knew I...

A few years ago, my grandparents’ dog, Lady, went missing. They looked everywhere for her, from the fields to the forest to the town and even to the town down the...

When I was interviewed by someone from a TV channel after resigning from my job, a reporter asked me if I felt a sense of loss at leaving my position in...

When I was young, we lived two thousand miles from my paternal grandparents. I was able to see them only a couple of times in their lifetimes. They had little money,...

I heard a beautiful song on the radio years ago that I immediately loved. I only heard it once, but it has stuck with me. Many times since I heard it,...

I had just finished high school when my father died. I felt my world collapsing as I stood by his body and reflected on all the promises he had made to...

I once tried making bread. It had just four ingredients: flour, water, salt, and yeast. I thought, How hard could it be? I mixed the ingredients to form a sticky dough,...

Standing in the marketplace of ancient Megiddo in Israel, I closed my eyes and imagined the swirl of activity occurring on this spot three thousand years earlier. Once considered the jewel...

We consulted maps and considered terrain and distance before our group of ten family members embarked on a moderate hike to a mountain lookout. A few meters from the trailhead the...

When I was a freshman in high school, my dad lost his job. He had survived a stroke, but his employer thought he wasn’t up to the task anymore. We were...