the new york times personal essays

Find anything you save across the site in your account

Personal Essays

The Fab Five and Hair That Does the Talking

How I Proposed to My Girlfriend

When Williamsburg Was on the Wrong Side of the River

Mayfield, Before and After

Sunday Reading: Personal Reflections

My Failed Attempts to Hoard Anything at All

Stalking a Rustically Hip Family on Instagram

A Dark Ride

Julius: The Story of a Premature Birth

The Nick Cave Song That Changed My Life

Two Sister-Poets Gone Too Soon: Ntozake Shange and My Sister

The Sordid Necessity of Living for Others

Memories of V. S. Naipaul

I’ve Quit Writing Personal Essays About Quitting Things: A Personal Essay

My Father and Sandy Koufax

The Personal-Essay Boom Is Over

One child’s life.

New York Times Opinion Guest Essays

Learn more about New York Times Opinion guest essays, including how to submit a guest essay for review and publication.

New York Times Opinion guest essays deliver an argument in the author’s voice, based on fact and drawn from expertise or experience. Our goal is to offer readers a robust range of ideas on newsworthy events or issues of broad public concern from people outside The New York Times.

We welcome ideas for submissions in all media, including audio, illustration, data and visualization . 

If you’d like to submit a video guest essay , please visit New York Times Opinion Video guest essay for more information on the submission process. 

Select an option below to learn more: 

What is a Guest Essay?

Opinion guest essays were known as Op-Eds because they appeared in print opposite the editorial page. At its core, an Opinion guest essay provides an argument defined and substantiated with evidence. Rich discussion and debate, combined in a unique way, offer New York Times readers a better understanding of the world. Inviting “intelligent discussion from all shades of opinion” has been core to the work of The Times since 1896, when our publisher Adolph Ochs declared it part of the newspaper’s mission.

We believe in the value of creating space for people who aren’t journalists and who often have no institutional affiliation with The New York Times to speak directly to readers instead of being mediated through a reporter. By design, these arguments and voices often contrast with or challenge those of our newsroom and our own Opinion columnists and editorials . 

Guest essays should provide New York Times readers with the most robust, wide-ranging and distinctive collection of arguments and ideas available.

Guest essays can take many forms, such as: 

• A place for experts to share knowledge and offer illuminating counterarguments: Where experts can present findings, highlight problems and propose solutions to the public and to one another. We seek out essays from experts in which they make an original, robust argument based on their unusual or deep expertise. Economists, lawyers, doctors, teachers, psychologists, playwrights and many others may have expertise on a given topic that can advance an important argument.
• First-person accounts: Where everyday people can share their experiences in their own words, often coupled with reporting or research, in a way that compels readers to see the world in a different light.
• A platform for public officials: Where public officials can make their case, explain their position or tell their stories. Because these individuals already have significant platforms, their essays are held to especially high standards and offer readers newsworthy insight.

We discourage essays that are fundamentally responses to other Opinion articles, columns or editorials. The best forum for responses is the Letters page. To send a letter, email [email protected] .

What Makes a Guest Essay Great?

This is an ever-evolving question because what we look for depends on the news and the issues in public conversation at any given moment. 

The best Opinion essays: 

• Challenge and engage audiences that do not necessarily agree with the writer’s point of view. 
• Give specific and original insight into complicated problems or thorny ideas. 
• Anticipate readers’ questions and even confusion around news that has an impact on their lives and the world. One important role of a guest essay is to clarify and explain the stakes of changes and world events.
• Start conversations, influence policymakers and have an impact far beyond the pages of Times Opinion. 
• Delight readers with great writing and originality and open a window to a world they might not otherwise see.
• Have a word count typically from 800 to 1,200 words, although we sometimes publish essays that are shorter or longer.

Our Standards

Originality: Essays must be original and exclusive to The New York Times — meaning they cannot have appeared elsewhere in any form in print or online.

Ethics and conflicts: Guest writers are expected to avoid any conflict of interest or the appearance of such conflict and comply with The Times’s policies on ethical journalism .

Fact-checking: Before we publish your article, it must be fact-checked. If an essay is accepted for publication, the guest writer will be asked to submit an annotated copy of the essay, listing the relevant sources for each factual assertion.

• We focus our checking on verifiable facts (for example, the number of Americans without health insurance, the median household income, the date a law was enacted).
• We also investigate broader factual assertions (for example, “No one named to the court in the postwar period was as conservative as Justice Scalia or as liberal as Justice Brennan,” “Laos is one of the world’s most corrupt nations”) that may need to be qualified, explained or stated with greater precision or nuance.
• We look at the factual evidence cited to verify that the methodology is sound and that the data is presented with precision and balance. 
• We prefer primary sources (for example, an N.I.H. research paper) to secondary ones (a news article about the paper’s findings).
• If we determine that a particular fact cannot be verified, we will not publish it. 

We will work to verify the facts in your article, but as the writer, you bear the ultimate responsibility for the accuracy of your work. We cannot fix anything after publication without appending a correction, and corrections are permanently archived. Past errors are a factor when we consider whether to accept future work from a writer.

How Do I Submit an Opinion Guest Essay?

To submit your guest essay, please complete this form . 

When submitting your essay: 

• Explain the professional or personal background that connects you to the argument or idea in your essay. 
• Include sources (in hyperlinks in the text or in parentheses) for key assertions made in your essay. 

A member of our staff will read and review every submission, but because of the large number of messages we receive, we may not be able to respond to everyone individually. Unfortunately, we have to reject many excellent essays and ideas. If you do not hear from us within three business days, you should feel free to submit your work elsewhere.

How Do I Contact Other Teams?

• To contact the Editorial Page editor, email [email protected] . 
• To report a factual error in a news article, email [email protected] . All letters asserting factual errors will be forwarded to the appropriate editors.
• To contact Op-Docs, email [email protected] . 

To send a letter to a specific Sunday section :

• Book Review: [email protected]  
• Magazine: [email protected]  
• Metro: [email protected]  

Can't find what you're looking for?

The New York Times

The learning network | getting personal: writing college essays for the common application.

Getting Personal: Writing College Essays for the Common Application

Language Arts

Teaching ideas based on New York Times content.

• See all in Language Arts »
• See all lesson plans »

Overview | How can reading The New York Times help students practice for the new college essay prompts on the Common Application? What tips on college-essay writing can they learn from The Choice blog? In this lesson, students will explore the open-ended topics for the 2013-14 Common Application essays through writing and discussion. Then, they will identify and examine Times pieces that might serve as “mentor texts” for their own application essays. Finally, they will craft their own college admissions essay in response to one of the new prompts, using advice from Learning Network and The Choice Blog.

Materials | Student journals

Warm-Up | Prior to class, post these prompts at the front of the room, or prepare to project them. Do not tell students that they are the new prompts for the Common Application essay.

When students arrive, ask them to form two concentric circles, facing one another. During the activity, the students forming the inside circle remain still, which the students in the outside circle will travel to their left when given the signal. Explain to students that you are going to do a “speed-dating” activity.

Project or unveil the first prompt and tell students that they will talk about the topic with the person across from them for five minutes. Within that time, each student should play the role of speaker and listener. Set a timer for five minutes and signal that they should begin. Once time is up the outer circle rotates left. Unveil a new topic and begin the process again until students have discussed each topic, rotating to new discussion partners with each prompt. Then, ask students to return to their seats.

Alternatively, depending on the nature of your class, you could post the topics up around the room and ask students to take their journals and form small groups by each topic. Then, conduct a free-writing marathon. Have students free-write using the topic they are standing in front of as a starting point. Tell them they have five minutes and set a timer. At the conclusion of the time period, ask students to rotate to the next topic and begin free-writing. Repeat this process until students reach their starting point. Then, ask them to return to their seats.

Open discussion by asking the following questions:

• Which of these topics did you find the easiest to discuss? Why?
• Which of these did you find difficult? Why?
• Which of these prompts did you want to continue talking (or writing) about?

Then, invite students to share a story or a favorite free-write effort with the whole group.

Finally, share with students that these are the new essay topics for the common application essay and ask them what they think. Are these good topics? Is there something here for everyone? Do some help colleges get to know students better than others? Do they fuel or lessen anxiety about the college application process? You might use some of the comments in response to The Choice post to spark discussion.

Related | In Common Application Releases New Essay Prompts , Tanya Abrams unveils the new Common App essay topics for the 2013-14 admissions season.

The new Common Application — which received some criticism a few months ago for removing the “topic of your choice” essay prompt — has released five new essay prompts for the 2013-14 admissions season, Inside Higher Ed reports. Students who plan to use the Common App, a form that allows students to apply to multiple colleges and universities simultaneously, are advised to keep these essay prompts in mind. Savvy juniors, and regular readers of this blog, know that the earlier a college applicant starts drafting his or her essay, the more prepared they are. Here are the new essay prompts: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn? Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again? Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you? Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

Questions | For discussion and reading comprehension:

• Why did the Common Application receive criticism several months ago for its essay prompts?
• Do you miss the “topic of your choice” option? Why or why not?
• Why would The Choice publish these topics now?
• What do the new topics have in common??
• How do you feel about the new word count?

RELATED RESOURCES

From the learning network.

• Lesson | Going Beyond Cliché: How to Write a Great College Essay
• Student Opinion | What Mundane Moments in Your Life Might Make Great Essay Material?
• Lesson | Getting Personal: Creating Your Own College Essay Prompts

From NYTimes.com

• Common Application is Removing a Surprising Essay Topic
• Juniors: In the Quiet of Summer, Start Your Essays
• Your Admissions Essay, Live on Stage

Around the Web

• Juniors and Common App Essays: Wait to Write Them
• TeenInk College Guide: Today’s Best College Essays
• >MIT Admissions: How to Write a College Essay

Activity | Tell students that they will have the opportunity to expand on the ideas they discussed at the beginning of class by drafting an essay in response to one of the prompts, but first, they are going to comb The New York Times for models of each topic and look closely at them to see how others have told their stories and what they might learn about how to effectively tell their own. ( Note: Many of the pieces we’ve chosen as “mentor texts” below, are either by or about young people, but some are not. Please use the choices as suggestions only: there are many, many pieces in The Times weekly that fit the Common App prompts well.)

Assign pairs or groups of students each one of the new Common App essay topics and ask them to search the Times (and elsewhere) for essays that might serves as models. Give each group the following articles, essays, or columns to use as starting points. Each group member should find at least one additional model and bring in the clipping or Web site to class for analysis and discussion.

Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

• It’s O.K. to Put Yourself First : An essay in which a writer meditates on the impact of a serious illness on her life and family.
• My Son and the City : A woman moves to New York City with her son, who has serious medical challenges and developmental disabilities–and, she writes, “in a place famous for its anonymous crowds, [he] has been learning about people.”

Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?

• A Rat’s Tale : A writer discusses her failure to be the sister her brother wanted and what she learned.
• Pancake Chronicles : An entertaining account of a disastrous first job.
• A Heartbroken Temp at Brides.com : After a groom changes his mind, his would-be bride, with “no money, no apartment, no job” takes a position at a wedding Web site.

Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?

• From Tehran to the B Train : A young woman stands up to a mugger on the subway.
• Winning Essay: Win a Trip Contest : An essay about fighting injustice all around the world.
• I Found My Biological Parents, and Wish I Hadn’t : “I’d expected to find more common ground,” writes the author of this essay.

Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?

• Yes, I’m in a Clique : A Student from Columbine High School discusses the comfort of a clique.
• My Manhattan; A Lifetime of Memories and Magic : A meditation on Central Park
• My Home in Africa : An American feels at home in the Republic of Benin.

Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.

• A Life Plan for Two, Followed by One : An essay about young love and loss of innocence.
• Forbidden Nofruit : A reflection on junk food, family, and rebellion.
• Bitter Sweets : A young man who has “a hard time” with his Chinese-American identity looks for an apartment with his white girlfriend.

Generally speaking, the following Times sections offer good models for personal essays:

• Lives Columns
• Modern Love Columns
• The Townies series

In addition, the following Learning Network features pull together high interest pieces that make good models for student writing.

• Great Read-Alouds From The New York Times
• Teenagers in the Times
• Using Opening Lines From the Magazine’s ‘Lives’ Column as Writing Prompts
• 10 Personal Writing Ideas

When students identify the models, ask them to analyze them as models for writing, using the following questions:

• How does the writer begin the piece? Is it effective? Why or why not? What advice would you give an essay writer based on how this model begins?
• Where do you see the writer demonstrating what he or she is saying? In other words, where is he or she showing, rather than telling?
• What words does the writer use that really make his or her voice come alive for you?
• How does the piece end? Is this an effective technique? Why or why not?
• Finally, try “reverse outlining” the piece to see how the writer organized and developed his or her ideas.

Help students explore more Times models and advice for writing well with this lesson . For expository essay models that go beyond the personal, try this one .

Going Further |

After exploring Times models, students are now ready to craft their own essays. Ask students to choose a topic that intrigued them during the warm-up and draft an essay, using Times Resources to help them.

They might start with the three articles we’ve pulled drawings from to illustrate this lesson plan:

• Common App 4.0
• The Almighty Essay
• Returning Favors With Neighborly Advice

Then move on to specific advice offered by The Choice blog:

• On College Essay, Write About Something That Made You ‘Feel Deeply’”
• A Plea From the Admissions Office to Go for the ‘Dangerous’ Essay
• What the New Dean at Pomona Looks for in an Essay

• Hearing the Voice of a 51-Year-Old Man in the Essay of a 17-Year-Old Girl
• Treating a College Admissions Essay Like a First Date
• Crafting an Application Essay that ‘Pops’
• Tip Sheet: An Admissions Dean Offers Advice on Writing a College Essay
• Advice on Whittling Your Admissions Essay

Students who are having trouble coming up with ideas might browse the responses to our Student Opinion question What Mundane Moments in Your Life Might Make Great Essay Material? or this tip sheet from The Choice blog.

Teachers wishing to develop this lesson into a more complete unit on the college essay might focus more on crafting the essay itself using this lesson on Going Beyond Cliché: How to Write a Great College Essay” coupled with the resources from this 2009 lesson . Students might also find this advice useful.

Once students have completed their drafts, ask that they use the College Essay Checklist (PDF) to evaluate their essays either individually or in pairs.

Common Core ELA Anchor Standards, 6-12

Reading 1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. 4. Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone. 5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs and larger parts of the text (for example, a section, chapter, scene or stanza) relate to each other and the whole. 6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. 10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

Writing 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences. 4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization and style are appropriate to task, purpose and audience. 5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or trying a new approach.

Speaking and Listening 1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

Language 1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. 3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

Comments are no longer being accepted.

What a great resource you are, and to think that until last week I had no idea you even existed! Thanks to your post, I just followed up on The Choice’s suggestion to add additional helpful essay-starting exercises of my own. “What’s in your room?” has long been the prompt I use to get things rolling – even before the Common App posted its new questions. And look: Question 4 readily lends itself to that train of thought.

Your suggestions have also been a good way for me to refine an area where I don’t quite agree. I’ve never found it useful to have students look at model essays written by other people, in the same way I don’t (usually) find it a good idea when students begin their essays with someone else’s lofty quotation. I’d much rather give them the strategies to look deeper within themselves to provide both the text and, more importantly, the subtext. In fact, I don’t feel that even the Common Core heeds the omnipresence of a deeper intuitive logic within the writing process. In the college essay I believe the chief goal should be to get students to realize they are the only authority they may need when it comes to making, then sharing, the amazing, unique connections they have arrived at based on experiences they alone are qualified to speak of. =)

Thanks so much for letting us know, Maxene! (And consider inviting your students to do our Summer Reading Contest , too!) –Katherine

This chart is very use fol for students

This is one of the most extensive and helpful posts I’ve read on how to write college admissions essays. My feeling is that most English teachers know their great literature, but are not as versed on teaching writing–especially narrative style pieces. I agree that the best place to get ideas for unique topics, as well as learn how to structure these more informal essays, is by reading what others have written. You have collected a wonderful assortment of sample essays. Reading excellent writing, especially the New York Times, is also very helpful, especially feature-style articles that use creative writing techniques, such as anecdotal leads and descriptive details. I try to share similar writing advice on my blog, Essay Hell.

Excellent resource, thank you.

I am in the process of writing my common application essay, and this is served as inspiration.

It was very useful for me.

Is the essay you write just as important as your SAT scores?

This will help me immensely when I begin writing my college essay prompt.

Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. //www.essayhelpcollege.blogspot.com //writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/application-essays/

Common Application will retain the current set of first-year essay prompts for 2014-15, without any edits or additions. //dartmouth.edu/writing-speech/ wwwbuyessay.co.uk

I saw some sources about relationship. Is it okay to write about your love and how in has influenced you to become a better person?

Hi, these tips are really helpful to write my personal statement for law school. I was feeling overwhelmed to compose my personal statement.

Found your blog very useful & informative. Thanks for such a nice post.

What's Next

• All Online Classes
• Testimonials
• 2025 Destination Retreats
• IndieMFA Programs

• Create account
• — View All Workshops
• — Fiction Classes
• — Nonfiction Classes
• — Poetry Classes
• — Lit Agent Seminar Series
• — 1-On-1 Mentorships
• — Screenwriting & TV Classes
• — Writing for Children
• — Dublin 2025: Apply Now!
• — Santa Fe 2025: Apply Now!
• — Paris 2025: Join List!
• — Iceland 2025: Join List!
• — Tuscany 2025: Join List!
• — Mackinac Island 2025: Join List!
• — Hawaii 2025: Join List!
• — New Orleans 2026: Join List!
• — Our Mission
• — Meet the Teaching Artists
• — Testimonials
• — FAQ
• — Contact
• — Latest Posts
• — Student Publication News

Shopping Cart

by Writing Workshops Staff

• #Modern Love
• #Online Memoir
• #Online Personal Essay
• #Personal Essay
• #Personal Essays
• #The Art of Memoir
• #Writing a Memoir
• #Writing Tips

How to Get Your Story Published in the New York Times Modern Love Column

Introduction to Writing for Modern Love:

The New York Times Modern Love column is a weekly series that features stories about relationships, feelings, betrayal, and revelations. It is one of the most widely read columns in the paper and has been a beloved staple for readers for many years. If you’ve ever wanted to write for The New York Times , submitting a story to Modern Love is one of the best ways to do it. Here’s how to write and pitch your piece.

Writing Your Piece for Modern Love

The first step in getting your work published in Modern Love is writing your story (you can write about your ex or write about true love ; you could even write about your family ). Remember that this column focuses on relationships and personal reflections, so use that as your inspiration when coming up with ideas.

Once you know what to write about, begin drafting your story. Keep it short—Modern Love essays usually range from 500-1,200 words—and make sure to focus on vivid details that bring your piece to life.

The essay should be honest and true while still entertaining and engaging. And don’t forget to make sure you’re following all the submission guidelines!

Pitching Your Piece to The New York Times

Once you’ve written your piece, it’s time to pitch it!

To do this, go to the Modern Love page on The New York Times website and click “Submit an Essay for Consideration” at the bottom. From there, fill out all necessary information (including a brief but compelling description of your essay) before submitting it directly through The New York Times website or emailing [email protected] with “Submission Attached” in the subject line.

Make sure all information is accurate and complete before submitting it—this will help ensure that your essay gets seen by an editor more quickly!

20 Modern Love Prompts

• The story of how I met my partner and the twists and turns our relationship took.
• The moment I realized I had been in an emotionally abusive relationship.
• The journey of learning to trust again after being betrayed by a loved one.
• The difficulties of maintaining a relationship while dealing with a chronic illness.
• The unexpected love that developed between two people who initially disliked each other.
• The decision to open up a relationship and the challenges that came with it.
• The story of falling in love with someone from a different culture and how it affected our relationship.
• The journey of rebuilding a relationship after infidelity.
• The realization that I was in a codependent relationship and the steps I took to change it.
• The story of falling in love with someone who was initially just a friend.
• The moment I realized I was in love with my best friend.
• The day I found out my partner had been cheating on me.
• The decision to end a long-term relationship because of differences in values.
• The journey of learning to love myself after a toxic relationship.
• The unexpected love that blossomed between two coworkers.
• The challenges of navigating a long distance relationship.
• The moment I realized I was gay and how it affected my relationship with my family.
• The realization that my partner and I had grown apart over the years.
• The unexpected joy of falling in love again after heartbreak.
• The realization that my relationship with my parents had changed and how we learned to navigate it.

Tips on How to Write and Pitch your Piece:

• Start by reading the column regularly. Familiarizing yourself with the tone and style of Modern Love will help you get a better sense of what they are looking for in a piece.
• Think about your story. What about your relationship, feelings, betrayals, or revelations makes it unique and interesting to readers? How can you convey your story compellingly and honestly?
• Write a strong and concise pitch. Your pitch should include a brief summary of your story, your credentials as a writer, and why you think your story would be a good fit for Modern Love. Keep your pitch to around 250-300 words.
• Follow the submission guidelines. Read and follow the submission guidelines on the Modern Love website. This includes guidelines on length, formatting, and how to submit your pitch.
• Be patient. The Modern Love column receives a high volume of submissions, so it may take some time for them to review and respond to your pitch. Don't get discouraged if you don't hear back immediately, and consider submitting your pitch to other publications as well.

How to Submit Your Piece

Modern Love has two submission periods, September through December and March through June.

Send submissions to: [email protected] . Please put the subject of your essay or a possible title in the email subject line.

Limit your essay to 1,500-1,700 words.

Attach your essay as a Microsoft Word-compatible doc and paste the text into the body of the email. If your first submission is incomplete, please resubmit one complete entry; do not submit just the missing pieces in additional emails.

Essays must be entirely true. Do not use pseudonyms (including for yourself), composite characters or invented situations or scenes. There are no exceptions to this rule.

Essays must be previously unpublished. Work that has appeared online — on another news website, a personal blog, Medium or elsewhere — is considered previously published.

Essays will be edited in consultation with writers, and writers will be compensated for work that is published.

Getting published in The New York Times can be incredibly rewarding—especially if it's in their beloved weekly series Modern Love! Writing compelling pieces and pitching them properly are important steps in getting noticed by editors at The New York Times ; following these steps can increase your chances of having your work seen by them. Whether you're a seasoned writer or just starting out, writing for Modern Love is always an amazing experience that can give you great satisfaction once published!

Upcoming Nonfiction Workshops are Now Enrolling!

Related Blog Posts

Meet the Teaching Artist: Creativity When Life Gets in the Way with Lillian Stone

Meet the Teaching Artist: Archives, Museums, & Memoir with Dr. Tawnya Selene Renelle

The Battle of Speed v. Authority: an Interview with Kyle Minor

Writing Our Family: an Interview with Kate Hill Cantrill

How to get published.

• Health, Fitness & Dieting
• Diseases & Physical Ailments

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the authors

About Us: Essays from the Disability Series of the New York Times Hardcover – September 3, 2019

Based on the pioneering New York Times series, About Us collects the personal essays and reflections that have transformed the national conversation around disability.

Boldly claiming a space in which people with disabilities can be seen and heard as they are―not as others perceive them― About Us captures the voices of a community that has for too long been stereotyped and misrepresented. Speaking not only to those with disabilities, but also to their families, coworkers and support networks, the authors in About Us offer intimate stories of how they navigate a world not built for them.

Since its 2016 debut, the popular New York Times ’ “Disability” column has transformed the national dialogue around disability. Now, echoing the refrain of the disability rights movement, “Nothing about us without us,” this landmark collection gathers the most powerful essays from the series that speak to the fullness of human experience―stories about first romance, childhood shame and isolation, segregation, professional ambition, child-bearing and parenting, aging and beyond.

Reflecting on the fraught conversations around disability―from the friend who says “I don’t think of you as disabled,” to the father who scolds his child with attention differences, “Stop it stop it stop it what is wrong with you?”―the stories here reveal the range of responses, and the variety of consequences, to being labeled as “disabled” by the broader public.

Here, a writer recounts her path through medical school as a wheelchair user―forging a unique bridge between patients with disabilities and their physicians. An acclaimed artist with spina bifida discusses her art practice as one that invites us to “stretch ourselves toward a world where all bodies are exquisite.” With these notes of triumph, these stories also offer honest portrayals of frustration over access to medical care, the burden of social stigma and the nearly constant need to self-advocate in the public realm.

In its final sections, About Us turns to the questions of love, family and joy to show how it is possible to revel in life as a person with disabilities. Subverting the pervasive belief that disability results in relentless suffering and isolation, a quadriplegic writer reveals how she rediscovered intimacy without touch, and a mother with a chronic illness shares what her condition has taught her young children.

With a foreword by Andrew Solomon and introductory comments by co-editors Peter Catapano and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, About Us is a landmark publication of the disability movement for readers of all backgrounds, forms and abilities.

• Print length 304 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Liveright
• Publication date September 3, 2019
• Dimensions 6.4 x 1.2 x 9.6 inches
• ISBN-10 1631495852
• ISBN-13 978-1631495854
• See all details

Editorial Reviews

About the author, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Liveright; Reprint edition (September 3, 2019)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1631495852
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1631495854
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.4 x 1.2 x 9.6 inches
• #95 in Schizophrenia (Books)
• #131 in Physical Impairments (Books)
• #892 in Anxiety Disorders (Books)

About the authors

Andrew solomon.

Andrew Solomon is a professor of psychology at Columbia University, president of PEN American Center, and a regular contributor to The New Yorker, NPR, and The New York Times Magazine. A lecturer and activist, he is the author of Far and Away: Essays from the Brink of Change: Seven Continents, Twenty-Five Years; the National Book Critics Circle Award-winner Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity, which has won thirty additional national awards; and The Noonday Demon; An Atlas of Depression, which won the 2001 National Book Award, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and has been published in twenty-four languages. He has also written a novel, A Stone Boat, which was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times First Fiction Award and The Irony Tower: Soviet Artists in a Time of Glasnost. His TED talks have been viewed over ten million times. He lives in New York and London and is a dual national. For more information, visit the author’s website at AndrewSolomon.com

Ben Mattlin

BEN MATTLIN is the author of DISABILITY PRIDE: DISPATCHES FROM A POST-ADA WORLD, IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH, and MIRACLE BOY GROWS UP.

Based in Los Angeles, he is a senior writer at Financial Advisor magazine. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, CNN, Time, Newsweek, Chicago Tribune, Self magazine, and USA Today, and has been broadcast on NPR’s “Morning Edition.” He's also a former contributing editor at Institutional Investor, the late Windows In Financial Services, Dealmaker, Buyside, and Individual Investor magazines.

Non-print credits include the Mark Taper Forum, Blonde and Brunette Productions, and the children's television program BIKER MICE FROM MARS.

He has a nice butt, too, but you'll never see it because he's always sitting in a wheelchair.

His writing about disability-related causes led to appearances on radio and multiple podcasts, just like everybody else. He's also been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, and Penthouse.

Born in New York City in 1962 with spinal muscular atrophy, a congenital muscle weakness, Mattlin graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 1984.

He and his wife have two adult daughters, a cat, and a turtle.

Rosemarie Garland Thomson

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 83% 11% 4% 2% 0% 83%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 83% 11% 4% 2% 0% 11%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 83% 11% 4% 2% 0% 4%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 83% 11% 4% 2% 0% 2%
• 5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 83% 11% 4% 2% 0% 0%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

Guide to The NY Times’ Five Best College Essays on Work, Money and Class

So, you might ask, “What can I learn from this year’s crop of college essays about money, work and class? And how can they help me craft my own memorable, standout essays?”  To help get to the bottom of what made the Times ‘ featured essays so exceptional, we made you a guide on  w hat worked, and what you can emulate in your own essays to make them just as memorable for admissions.

• Contradictions are the stuff of great literature . “I belong to the place where opposites merge in a…heap of beautiful contradictions,” muses Tillena Treborn in her lyrical essay on straddling rural and urban life in Flagstaff, AZ, one of the five pieces selected by t he Times this year. Each of the highlighted essays mined contradictions: immigrant versus citizen; service worker versus client; insider versus outsider; urban versus rural; poverty versus wealth; acceptance versus rebellion; individual versus family. Every day, we navigate opposing forces in our lives. These struggles—often rich, and full of tension—make for excellent essay topics. Ask yourself this: Do you straddle the line between ethnicities, religions, generations, languages, or locales? If so, how? In what ways do you feel like you are stuck between two worlds, or like you are an outsider? Examining the essential contradictions in your own life will provide you with fodder for a fascinating, insightful college essay.  
• The magic is in the details — especially the sensory ones. Sensory details bring writing to life by allowing readers to experience how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels. In his American dream-themed essay about his immigrant mother cleaning the apartment of two professors, Jonathan Ababiy describes “the whir,” “suction,” and “squeal” of her “blue Hoover vacuum” as it leaps across “miles of carpet.” These descriptions allow us to both hear and see the symbolic vacuum in action. The slice-of-life familial essay by Idalia Felipe–the only essay to be published in The Times’ Snapchat Discover feature–opens with a scene: “As I sit facing our thirteen-year old refrigerator, my stomach growls at the scent of handmade tortillas and meat sizzling on the stove.” Immediately, we are brought inside Felipe’s home with its distinctive smells and sounds; our stomach seems to growl alongside hers. Use descriptive, sensory language to engage your reader, bring them into your world, and make your writing shine.
• One-sentence paragraphs are catchy . A one-sentence paragraph, as I’m sure you’ve gleaned, is a paragraph that is only one sentence long. The form has been employed by everyone from Tim O’Brien to Charles Dickens and, now, the writers of this year’s featured Times college essays. “I live on the edge,” Ms. Treborn declares at the beginning of her poetic essay on the differences between her mother and father’s worlds. “The most exciting part was the laptop,” asserts Zoe Sottile, the recipient of the Tang Scholarship at Phillips Academy in her essay about the mutability and complexity of class identity. Starting your essay with a one-sentence paragraph—a line of description, a scene, or a question, for example—is a great way to hook the reader. You could also use a one-sentence paragraph mid-essay to emphasize a point, as Ms. Treborn does, or in your conclusion. A one-sentence paragraph is one of many tricks that you have in your writing toolkit to make your reader pause and take notice.
• The Familiar Can Be Fascinating. The most daring essay this year, a rant on the imbalances of power embedded in the service industry by Caitlin McCormick, delivers us into the world of a family bed and breakfast with its clinking silverware and cantankerous guests demanding twice-a-day room cleanings. In Ms. Felipe’s more atmospheric piece, we enter her home before dinnertime where we see her attempting to study while her sisters giggle and watch Youtube cat videos. These are the environments these students grew up in, and they inspired everything from frustration at glaring class inequalities to gratitude for the dream of a better life. Rather than feeling like you have to write about something monumental, focus on the familiar, and consider how your environment has shaped you. How did you grow up—in the restaurant business, on a farm, in a house full of artists, construction workers, or judges? Bring us into your world, describing it meticulously and thoughtfully. Tease out the connection between your environment and who you are/what you strive for today and you will be embarking on the path of meaningful self-discovery, which is the key to college essay success.

About Nina Bailey

View all posts by Nina Bailey »

Written by Nina Bailey

Category: advice , Essay Tips , Essay Writing , New York Times , Uncategorized

Tags: advice , college admissions , college admissions essay , college essay , college essay advisors , common application , tips , writing

Want free stuff?

We thought so. Sign up for free instructional videos, guides, worksheets and more!

One-On-One Advising

Common App Essay Prompt Guide

Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

• YouTube Tutorials
• Our Approach & Team
• Undergraduate Testimonials
• Postgraduate Testimonials
• Where Our Students Get In
• CEA Gives Back
• Undergraduate Admissions
• Graduate Admissions
• Private School Admissions
• International Student Admissions
• Common App Essay Guide
• Supplemental Essay Guide
• Coalition App Guide
• The CEA Podcast
• Admissions Stats
• Notification Trackers
• Deadline Databases
• College Essay Examples
• Academy and Worksheets
• Waitlist Guides
• Get Started

• Election 2024
• Entertainment
• Newsletters
• Photography
• AP Buyline Personal Finance
• AP Buyline Shopping
• Press Releases
• Israel-Hamas War
• Russia-Ukraine War
• Global elections
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East
• Election results
• Google trends
• AP & Elections
• U.S. Open Tennis
• Paralympic Games
• College football
• Auto Racing
• Movie reviews
• Book reviews
• Financial Markets
• Business Highlights
• Financial wellness
• Artificial Intelligence
• Social Media

Former aide to 2 New York governors is charged with being an agent of the Chinese government

A former aide to two New York governors was charged Tuesday with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government who used her state positions to subtly advance Beijing’s agenda in exchange for financial benefits worth millions of dollars.

A former aide to two New York governors is charged with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese government who used her state positions to advance Beijing’s agenda in exchange for financial benefits worth millions of dollars. (AP Video: John Minchillo)

Attorney Seth DuCharme walks in front of former New York Governor Kathy Hochul aide Linda Sun, center, and her husband, Christopher Hu, left, leave Brooklyn Federal Court after their arraignment, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in New York. Sun is charged with being an aide to the Chinese government. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Former New York Governor Kathy Hochul aide Linda Sun leaves Brooklyn Federal Court after her arraignment, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Former New York Governor Kathy Hochul aide Linda Sun, right, and her husband, Christopher Hu leave Brooklyn Federal Court after their arraignment, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in New York. Sun is charged with being an aide to the Chinese government. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Former New York Governor Kathy Hochul aide Linda Sun, center background, and her husband, Christopher Hu leave Brooklyn Federal Court after their arraignment, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Former New York Governor Kathy Hochul aide Linda Sun, center, and her husband, Christopher Hu, second from left, leave Brooklyn Federal Court after their arraignment, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Attorney Seth DuCharme walks in front of former New York Governor Kathy Hochul aide Linda Sun, second from right, and her husband, Christopher Hu, center, as they leave Brooklyn Federal Court after their arraignment, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Attorney Seth DuCharme, left, walks with former New York Governor Kathy Hochul aide Linda Sun, center right, and her husband, Christopher Hu, center leave Brooklyn Federal Court after their arraignment, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, in New York. Sun is charged with being an aide to the Chinese government. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

FILE - The New York state Capitol is seen from the steps of the State Education Building in Albany, N.Y., June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)

• Copy Link copied

Linda Sun, who held numerous posts in New York state government, including deputy chief of staff for Gov. Kathy Hochul and deputy diversity officer for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, was arrested Tuesday morning along with her husband, Chris Hu, at their $4 million home on Long Island.

Federal prosecutors said Sun, at the request of Chinese officials, blocked representatives of the Taiwanese government from having access to the governor’s office and shaped New York governmental messaging to align with the priorities of the Chinese government, among other things.

In return, her husband got help for his business activities in China — a financial boost that prosecutors said allowed the couple to buy their multimillion-dollar property in Manhasset, New York, a condominium in Hawaii for $1.9 million, and luxury cars including a 2024 Ferrari, the indictment said.

Sun also received smaller gifts, the indictment said, including tickets to performances by a visiting Chinese orchestra and ballet groups and “Nanjing-style salted ducks” that were prepared by the personal chef of a Chinese government official and delivered to Sun’s parents’ home in New York.

If true, the allegations show that Chinese authorities were able to gain influence at the highest levels of state government in New York for nearly a decade.

“As alleged, while appearing to serve the people of New York as Deputy Chief of Staff within the New York State Executive Chamber, the defendant and her husband actually worked to further the interests of the Chinese government and the CCP,” United States Attorney Breon Peace said, using the acronym for the Chinese Communist Party. “The illicit scheme enriched the defendant’s family to the tune of millions of dollars.”

Sun and Hu pleaded not guilty during an initial court appearance on Tuesday afternoon in Brooklyn and will be released on bond. Sun has been barred from having any contact with the People’s Republic of China’s consulate and mission.

Her defense lawyer, Jarrod Schaeffer, said, “We’re looking forward to addressing these charges in court. Our client is understandably upset that these charges have been brought.”

The case is part of a broader Justice Department effort to root out secret agents for the Chinese government operating in the U.S. In recent years, federal authorities have charged Chinese nationals not only with covertly advancing Beijing’s interests but also with harassing and intimidating dissidents on the government’s behalf.

Last year, the Justice Department charged a pair of men with establishing a secret police station in New York City while acting under the direction and control of the Chinese government.

Sun, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China, worked in state government for about 15 years, holding jobs in Cuomo’s administration and eventually becoming Hochul’s deputy chief of staff, according to her LinkedIn profile. In November 2022, Sun took a job at the New York Department of Labor, as deputy commissioner for strategic business development, but she left that job months later in March 2023, the profile said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Hochul’s office said the administration fired Sun after “discovering evidence of misconduct.”

“This individual was hired by the Executive Chamber more than a decade ago. We terminated her employment in March 2023 after discovering evidence of misconduct, immediately reported her actions to law enforcement and have assisted law enforcement throughout this process,” the statement reads.

The indictment said that, among other things, Sun worked to ensure that representatives of Taiwan’s government couldn’t get meetings with high-ranking New York state officials. The Chinese government considers Taiwan to be part of China.

It also outlined a series of exchanges Sun had with officials in the Chinese Consulate in New York in January 2021, when Cuomo was still governor and Hochul was lieutenant governor. Neither leader is named in the document but are instead referred to as “Politician-1” and “Politician-2.”

After Chinese officials requested a Lunar New Year video from the governor, Sun said Hochul could probably do it and asked for “talking points of things you want her to mention.”

“Mostly holiday wishes and hope for friendship and cooperation / Nothing too political,” an official told her, according to the indictment.

Sun later told a different official that she had argued with Hochul’s speechwriter over the draft, because the speechwriter insisted on mentioning the “Uyghur situation” in China. She promised that she wouldn’t let that happen, and the final speech did not mention the Muslim ethnic minority, according to the indictment.

Sun’s alleged activities in New York paved the way for lucrative business deals for Hu in China, prosecutors said, including discussions about a venture to export frozen seafood to China. Hu then attempted to conceal the earnings through various methods in the U.S., according to the indictment.

At the arraignment, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Solomon said there were a “multitude of shell and business entities” used in the crimes, adding, “This is no ordinary financial fraud.”

The FBI searched the couple’s multimillion home in Manhasset in late July but declined to release details at the time.

Sun is charged with violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, money laundering and helping people commit visa fraud and enter the U.S. illegally. Hu is charged with money laundering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and misuse of means of identification. Neither has been charged with espionage.

Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi downplayed Sun’s reach in the former governor’s administration, saying she “worked in a handful of agencies and was one of many community liaisons who had little to no interaction with the governor.”

Sun and Hu live in a gated community on Long Island called Stone Hill. The couple purchased the house in 2021 but placed it in a trust earlier this year, records show.

Associated Press reporters Michael R. Sisak and Larry Neumeister in New York and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

• Share full article

Why Is the Loneliness Epidemic So Hard to Cure?

Maybe because we aren’t thinking about it in the right way.

Credit... Illustration by Max Guther. Concept by Alex Merto.

Supported by

By Matthew Shaer

Matthew Shaer is a contributing writer for the magazine and a founder of the podcast studio Campside Media.

• Published Aug. 27, 2024 Updated Aug. 28, 2024

In the early months of 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic settled over the country, a psychologist and Harvard lecturer named Richard Weissbourd approached his colleagues with a concept for a new kind of study. Loneliness, or the specter of it, seemed to Weissbourd to be everywhere — in the solitude of quarantine, in the darkened windows of the buildings on campus, in the Zoom squares that had come to serve as his primary conduit to his students. Two years earlier, he read a study from Cigna, the insurance provider, showing that 46 percent of Americans felt sometimes or always alone. In 2019, when Cigna replicated the study , the number of lonely respondents had grown to 52 percent. God knows what the data would say now, Weissbourd thought.

Listen to this article, read by James Patrick Cronin

“Initially, the idea was, OK, we’ve got a problem that’s not new but is obviously affecting lots of us, and that is now more visible than ever — it’s more present than ever,” Weissbourd told me. “What I really wanted was to get under the hood. Like, what does loneliness feel like to the lonely? What are the potential consequences? And what’s causing it?”

Finding answers to these types of questions is a notoriously difficult proposition. Loneliness is a compound or multidimensional emotion: It contains elements of sadness and anxiety, fear and heartache. The experience of it is inherently, intensely subjective, as any chronically lonely person can tell you. A clerk at a crowded grocery store can be wildly lonely, just as a wizened hermit living in a cave can weather solitude in perfect bliss. (If you want to infuriate an expert in loneliness, try confusing the word “isolation” with “loneliness.”) For convenience’ sake, most researchers still use the definition coined nearly three decades ago, in the early 1980s, by the social psychologists Daniel Perlman and Letitia Anne Peplau, who described loneliness as “a discrepancy between one’s desired and achieved levels of social relations.” Unfortunately, that definition is pretty subjective, too.

In order to understand the current crisis, Weissbourd, who serves as the faculty director of Making Caring Common — a Harvard Graduate School of Education project that collects and disseminates research on health and well-being — created a 66-question survey, which would be mailed to approximately 950 recipients around the United States. With the exception of a couple of straightforwardly phrased items — “In the past four weeks, how often have you felt lonely?” — a majority of the queries devised by Weissbourd and the project’s director of research and evaluation, Milena Batanova, approached the issue elliptically, from a variety of angles: “Do you feel like you reach out more to people than they reach out to you?” “Are there people in your life who ask you about your views on things that are important to you?” Or: “Has someone taken more than just a few minutes to ask how you are doing in a way that made you feel they genuinely cared?”

Several weeks later, the raw results were sent back to Weissbourd. “Frankly, I was knocked back,” he told me. “People were obviously really, really suffering,” and at a scale that dwarfed other findings on the topic. Thirty-six percent of the respondents reported feeling chronic loneliness in the previous month, with another 37 percent saying they experienced occasional or sporadic loneliness. As Weissbourd and Batanova had hoped, the answers to subsequent questions helped clarify why. Among the cohort identifying as lonely, 46 percent said they reached out to people more than people reached out to them. Nineteen percent said no one outside their family cared about them at all.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?  Log in .

Want all of The Times?  Subscribe .

Advertisement