Essays + Narratives

A Giant Burden By Kendra Kruckenberg 2011 “There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” my boyfriend, David says, leaning forward to play with my hair.  He sits on his worn, hand-me-down couch while I sit in front of him on the cheap apartment carpet, my back resting against his shins. My stomach […]

I came across an old photo album in my closet the other day. In two seconds, I was distracted, flipping through the pages and laughing at hairstyles that were courtesy of a bad perm and half a can of Aqua Net. “The kids would love this,” I said to myself, wondering why I hadn’t stored […]

I laid face up–a different start to a massage–and felt the warmth of a heated pad beneath me, a soft sheet and cozy blanket above. Those first few minutes, after undressing to my comfort level (down to the beige underwear that is as close as I’ll get to being in the nude) and taking my […]

“My body hurts today.” First waking thoughts as I press my weight into arthritic feet and stand to face the day. This is my body, broken for you. I hobble toward the bathroom each step a reminder  that I am broken, that this body bears the effects of creation, fallen. “I could just fall back […]

1. Skin With a wave of my hand— yes, this hand wrapped in wrinkled skinfolds striated with veins like ridges across a mountain range, its ancient beauty splayed for admiring— With a wave of this hand I banish the illusionary elixir, this boastful bottle of serum, a trumped-up mixture of vitamin A1 commingled with vitamin […]

I return home from my six-week postpartum appointment and stare down the fourth drawer of my dresser. Should I do it?  It’s been more than six months since I shimmied into a pair of jeans—right before everything shut down because of a global pandemic. Since then, I’ve rotated wearing the same two pairs of forgiving […]