Life & Love

In March 2022, Brianna Kohn felt something was missing. The telltale signs of the pandemic had left everyday city life, but with that, so had most of her close girlfriends, who had moved out of New York in the meantime. The women she would typically call up for a cup of coffee, a walk, or

What if apologies became obsolete? Alternatively, imagine they’re replaced with fruit. For example, a driver hits your dog, and the next day an apple appears on your front porch. A first-grader is reprimanded for kicking sand into the eyes of another child on the playground—he presents his victim with a banana. Step on the back

The summer after ninth grade, I worked as a nanny in The Hamptons. I was actually called a “mother’s helper,” but I can’t say I was much help. The mother had to prompt me, “Any chance you could get out of bed and watch the kids, or at least fold some of these sheets?” I’d

The year is 2013. Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year is “selfie.” People are posting nudes on Tumblr and watching season 2 of Girls. There’s a documentary about Burning Man. The Feminist Porn Awards are still a thing. Lindsay Lohan is shooting The Canyons opposite an adult film star. It was a different time, and

I started dating myself, and I have to be honest, at first it wasn’t easy. Taking myself out wasn’t exactly scary, but it was definitely awkward. We are so busy all the time, so scheduled and constantly connected, that being alone in a restaurant came as a bit of a shock. When I started taking

My heart was racing and my head was faint. Don’t touch me, I thought. This inner voice was a stark wake-up call when I came home from a work trip to Indonesia and recoiled from my husband’s embrace. At the time, I was reeling in sadness and confusion because I was contending with the inner

As a child studying at the School of American Ballet, I supplemented my formal training with open ballet classes all over Manhattan. These studios were populated by a mix of aspiring professional dancers like me as well as grown-ups in their thirties, forties and beyond, who clearly had no hope of going pro. They baffled

“When I think about the future,” Kyana Moghadam, 36, says over plates of lukewarm rigatoni at an overpriced Williamsburg café. “I go blank. There’s just nothing there. It’s a sense of horizonlessness.” She seemed almost surprised by the word. But I knew exactly what she meant. A Bay Area-based multimedia journalist and audio producer, Moghadam

“Congratulations on your engagement!” Over the past few months, I’ve spent my evenings sending out a flurry of emails to what feels like the entirety of the tri-state area wedding industrial complex. In response, nearly everyone—planners, videographers, florists—has answered my admittedly novice inquiries with this same euphoric sentence: “Congratulations on your engagement!” Then, once we

Accountability has always been my biggest hurdle when it comes to exercise. I wish I was the type of person who’s self-motivated and can work out alone, but that’s just not who I am. I was a competitive lacrosse player from childhood through college, but I was never able to stay consistent in my training

Jordan Turpin would argue that Justin Bieber saved her life. The young woman, who is now 22, grew up in the most unusually cruel and isolated of environments—effectively what people mean when they hyperbolize that someone is “living under a rock”—and still felt the impact of Bieber’s world-dominating stardom. It’s the reason she was able

How often do you think about your vagina? Probably not often, until something changes—it smells different, it’s itchy, or it’s drier than usual—or you want or need help in the intimacy department. Widespread and valid concerns about harsh cleansers and douches have led to blanket skepticism about intimate products and uncertainty about what’s safe for

One night in November, when I was 13 years old, my parents took the train to New York City to celebrate their wedding anniversary. They took in a show, went out to dinner, and had the last fully carefree experience of their lives together. When they returned from the trip, my mother was sick. They

The entrepreneurial spirit is distinctive. It’s driven by a combo of ingenuity, solutions-seeking, and—well—drive. You’re the type to identify opportunities and solutions in the market and inherently have the drive and savviness needed to execute. Whether you already have a small biz brewing or 2023 is the year to launch, it’s go time. The idea

The symptoms were intense and unexpected. There was the time I was attending a conference and suddenly became so hot I had to immediately find the nearest bathroom so I could run cold water over my wrists and dry off my sweaty neck and breastbone. And the day I was having lunch with one of

It is a relatively mundane task for an afternoon in late November. As I walk across my lawn, my steps become audible as the browning grass crunches under my feet. I make it to the mailbox, hunch down, and launch my hand inside. As I draw out the trappings, I am instantly made aware without

Ten years ago, on Dec. 14, 2012, a gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, with two rifles and a handgun and killed 20 students between the ages of six and seven and six adults. It is the deadliest mass shooting at an elementary school in American history and the fourth deadliest overall.

Ten years ago, on Dec. 14, 2012, a gunman entered Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, with two rifles and a handgun and killed 20 students between the ages of six and seven and six adults. It is the deadliest mass shooting at an elementary school in American history and the fourth deadliest overall.

Using a sperm donor wasn’t part of Rachel Seltzer’s life plan. The Atlanta-based operations director always wanted to be a mom, but she spent her 20s and 30s in long-term relationships that didn’t work out. After turning 37, she was convinced it was too late—the idea of meeting a partner and having a baby in

Elsa Hosk was used to being photographed. The statuesque Swedish model had appeared in eight annual Victoria’s Secret fashion shows, and she’d been a muse for a Rodeo Drive’s worth of luxury fashion brands. On Instagram, she had routinely posted behind-the-scenes snapshots, playful selfies, and scenic vacation dispatches wearing lingerie for her 8 million followers.

Monique Andre has been solo traveling around the world since she was a teenager, when she first flew to Europe by herself. Now 54, she’s traveled around the U.S. in her conversion SUV and abroad to far-off locales like Patagonia, Iceland, Bali, and many, many more, all the while documenting her travels on Instagram and

When I was 23 years old, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Little did I know just how straightforward cancer treatment would be relative to the unknowns I’ve struggled to wrap my head around in the eight years since—namely, my fertility. Since finishing treatment (a relatively standard protocol of a double mastectomy followed by three

Maria Claudia “Cloclo” Echavarría has always known the treasures that her native Colombia holds. Though she was educated in Switzerland, has lived in London, and now resides in Milan, Cartagena has remained her family’s base. So when the announcement of Echavarría’s engagement to Prince Josef-Emanuel of Liechtenstein was made last July, there was little doubt

I was 45 when I had my first hot flash—arguably the most common of the vasomotor symptoms (VMS) associated with menopause. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before: This whoosh of heat appeared out of nowhere and spread quickly through my body. Then, just like that, it was gone, leaving me sweaty and irritated.