From a young couple whose relationship is tested by neighborly intrusions during Covid lockdown, to a teenager intent on breaking free from an obsessive boyfriend and an abusive father; from a playwright who finds a chance to let go in an unexpected connection, to a woman searching for self-sufficiency after a long relationship ends; and finally to a young doctor confronting her family’s traditional beliefs after her mother’s death, our Top Five Stories of the Week 2021–2022 provide an extraordinary view of the struggles and joys of our ordinary lives. We hope you will take the time to read (or reread) these moving works.
Daniel Pope
Good Neighbors
I couldn’t make out what they were saying—it was the anger I heard.
Tatiana Schlote-Bonne
Suspicious Minds
“I love you,” I say. I’m fifteen and lying is my best skill.
Grace Bianchetti
Pain Management
I’m not allowed to leave until I’ve asked a man for his phone number.
Ola Szczecinska
Notes from a Breakup: A Field Guide through Heartbreak
She’d made promises to change before, but now she meant it.
Jemimah Wei
Paper Pledges
When my mother died, they came for her eyes.
