Student Success Stories
Here is a long list of our students with links to some of their published stories. Many of the essays grew out of a First Draft writing prompt.
I Teach Writing in Prison. During One Class, Things Got Real — Even for Me.
In The Washington Post, Allison Langer writes about teaching memoir to incarcerated students, and a class where the material hit closer to home than expected. Read the story →
Distractions
Maxine Poupko's essay appears in The Sun's "Readers Write" section, alongside other contributors reflecting on the theme of distraction in everyday life. Read the story →
How I Lost My Husband But Gained a Bigger Family
In Business Insider, Sarena Neyman writes about her divorce after her husband came out, and how her extended family relationships shifted and grew in the years that followed. Read the story →
After Our Son Died, My Husband Gave Me the Most Meaningful Christmas Gift of My Life
In HuffPost, Emily Henderson writes about grief, the first Christmas after losing a child, and the way her husband found to honor their son that year. Read the story →
My Depression Was Consuming Me. Shock Therapy Worked.
My Depression Was Consuming Me. Shock Therapy Worked.
In The Washington Post (subscriber-only), Danielle Huggins writes about living with treatment-resistant depression and how electroconvulsive therapy changed the course of her recovery. Read the story →
A Dad Tried to Bully Me Into Giving My Seat to His Kid. Here's What Happened When I Said No.
In HuffPost, Cyntianna C. Ledesma Ortega — recovering from brain surgery and using an ADA seating accommodation at a concert — writes about standing her ground when a stranger tried to pressure her into giving it up. Read the story →
Oh Where Oh Where Could My Baby Be
In MUTHA Magazine, Danielle Huggins writes about her teenage daughter's mental health crisis and their path through a psychiatric day program. Read the story →
Am I Dying? Waiting for Cancer Scan Results Is a Roller Coaster.
In The Washington Post (subscriber-only), [Author TBD — confirm with Andrea] writes about the anxiety of waiting on scan results during cancer treatment. Read the story →