Favorite Essays

My favorite color is blue. My favorite smell is campfire. My favorite TV show is Succession, unless it’s Mad Men or The Wire, which I also love. My favorite jacket is that leather jacket over there, and when I sat down to make a list of my favorite essays, these are the ones that came out.

May 2022

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Smoke Em if You Got Em

On Not Being a Mother

I wrote this after an awkward interaction at a Korean spa, when the polite massage therapist wished me a happy Mother’s Day. That complicated holiday launched this essay, which lays out topics I’d tackle in my 2026 memoir, The Only Thing There Is to Want.

Apr 2017

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New York Times

I Could Get Married Here (But Didn’t)

When my boyfriend and I traveled to Mexico, I thought we might be starting our lives together — instead, we were bringing our story to an end. A sliding door moment, re-considered.

Jan 2013

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D Magazine

My Search For One Decent Dallas Man

I moved back to Dallas in 2011, convinced I’d leave soon for a better port. I did not, for many reasons, one being that I fell in love my hometown thanks to the strange dating scene I reluctantly entered.

Aug 2012

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New York Times

Watching a Spectacular Public Meltdown with Just a Hint of Jealousy

This piece on enfant terrible Cat Marnell brings together so many of my areas of expertise: Addiction, first-person narrative, celebrity, professional envy, online culture, the drug of attention, women’s tendency to both tear down and idolize one another. I also appreciate the coda to this tale: Cat Marnell did write that book, and it was a bestseller.

Jul 2012

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Salon

Every Woman Should Travel Alone

When I was 27, I took a five-month road trip around the country by myself. I wrote about that trip on my old blog and therefore never had one essay about the experience. Then I read Cheryl Strayed’s Wild and got inspired.

Dec 2010

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Salon

Lush for Life

I have a soft spot for this story, the first time I published something serious about my drinking. I’d been joking about my consumption for years, but this essay felt like finally looking my audience in the eyes.

May 2022

|

Smoke Em if You Got Em

On Not Being a Mother

I wrote this after an awkward interaction at a Korean spa, when the polite massage therapist wished me a happy Mother’s Day. That complicated holiday launched this essay, which lays out topics I’d tackle in my 2026 memoir, The Only Thing There Is to Want.

Apr 2017

|

New York Times

I Could Get Married Here (But Didn’t)

When my boyfriend and I traveled to Mexico, I thought we might be starting our lives together — instead, we were bringing our story to an end. A sliding door moment, re-considered.

Jan 2013

|

D Magazine

My Search For One Decent Dallas Man

I moved back to Dallas in 2011, convinced I’d leave soon for a better port. I did not, for many reasons, one being that I fell in love my hometown thanks to the strange dating scene I reluctantly entered.

Aug 2012

|

New York Times

Watching a Spectacular Public Meltdown with Just a Hint of Jealousy

This piece on enfant terrible Cat Marnell brings together so many of my areas of expertise: Addiction, first-person narrative, celebrity, professional envy, online culture, the drug of attention, women’s tendency to both tear down and idolize one another. I also appreciate the coda to this tale: Cat Marnell did write that book, and it was a bestseller.

Jul 2012

|

Salon

Every Woman Should Travel Alone

When I was 27, I took a five-month road trip around the country by myself. I wrote about that trip on my old blog and therefore never had one essay about the experience. Then I read Cheryl Strayed’s Wild and got inspired.

Dec 2010

|

Salon

Lush for Life

I have a soft spot for this story, the first time I published something serious about my drinking. I’d been joking about my consumption for years, but this essay felt like finally looking my audience in the eyes.