The Lesson I Wish I Never Had to Learn About Motherhood
When I escaped from the Taliban and came to the U.S., I became my sister’s legal guardian at age 21. But I still need my mom.
What It’s Like to Win a Pulitzer With a Family Member
A father and a son reflect on being both colleagues and relatives.
Why Dad’s Side of the Family Tends to Miss Out
Many people have stronger bonds with their maternal relatives. Why?
Raising a Daughter With a Body Like Mine
I worried that any child of mine could become collateral damage in my eating disorder. Instead, she’s allowed me to see myself through the eyes of a mother.
The Wedding Trend Couples Love and Guests Hate
Why do newlyweds seem to think people want custom wedding merch taking up space in cabinets and drawers for years to come?
Embrace the Awkward Silence
Conversational lulls may be harder to avoid than ever—so we might as well get used to them.
What Home Cooking Does That Restaurants Can’t
When we eat, the social context matters perhaps even more than the food.
America Is in Its Insecure-Attachment Era
Discomfort with intimacy seems to be on the rise—and no one’s quite sure why.
The Parenting Prophecy
The way someone was raised often shows up in the way they raise their own kids—for better or worse.
Dear Therapist: I Won’t Marry Someone With a Mountain of Debt
After learning the full scope of my boyfriend’s finances, I don’t know if I should continue the relationship.
A Crucial Character Trait for Happiness
Don’t curb your enthusiasm.
What Your Favorite Personality Test Says About You
Are you a Myers-Briggs person, an Enneagram person, or something else? The Atlantic made a quiz to help you find out.
ChatGPT Will Change Housework
But it can never eliminate it.
The Not-So-Secret Key to Emotional Balance
Crying can help you keep your feelings in check. It’s also inextricably bound up in spirituality.
Welcome to Wedding Sprawl
Proposal parties. Extended bachelor and bachelorette weekends. Multiple honeymoons. Modern marriage celebrations can feel endless.
Please Don’t Ask Me to Play Your Board Game
Play can be a great shortcut to bonding. But I’d rather just have a conversation.
How Raising a Child Is Like Writing a Novel
Creating art requires a suspension of disbelief, a narrowing of vision to the present moment, an openness to the unexpected. So, too, with caring for a tiny human being.
The Scariest Part of a Relationship
For partners to make it “official,” they have to survive the period between acquaintanceship and closeness. But that’s when people tend to be especially bad at communicating.
Parasocial Relationships Are Just Imaginary Friends for Adults
If you get too invested in a fake friendship, your real ones might suffer.
When Did People Start Brushing Dogs’ Teeth?
Canine dental-hygiene needs haven’t changed; our relationship with our pets has.