Rachel PARSONS

Nov 18, 2024 | narratively.com | Rachel PARSONS

We’re in the midst of our 2024 Narratively Memoir Prize, which we couldn’t be more excited about. In a lead-up to the deadline, we wanted to re-share the winners from last year’s prize, starting with this wonderful essay from Rachel Parsons. To shed some light on the kind of care and thoughtfulness that goes into selecting the winners of our prizes, we’ve asked Banchiwosen Woldeyesus, the submissions reader who first read Rachel’s essay, to share why she chose to advance it.

Nov 7, 2024 | nytimes.com | Corina Knoll |Rachel PARSONS

"The fire there is in a tricky place - it's rugged, steep ground that only our finest firefighters can even access," said Capt. Trevor Johnson of the Ventura County Fire Department. "We're going to work as best as we can."Dozens of evacuees spent the night at Padre Serra Parish, a Catholic church in the town of Camarillo. The community, which is about 50 miles northwest of Los Angeles, is home to many retirees and scenic wedding venues.

Oct 7, 2024 | theafricareport.com | Rachel PARSONS

Vicentia Ayee Ayorkor looks concerned as she examines a handful of carrots she pulled out of the ground. They’re too small. She is afraid they won’t sell well at the market, but she’s got a field full of them, so she keeps harvesting the scrawny vegetables by hand, the Ghanaian sun beating on her back. Get full access to The Africa Report

Sep 15, 2024 | ourcommunitynow.com | Vik Jolly |Kate Selig |Rachel PARSONS

ShareMazen Sheikhly’s heart was pounding on Thursday as he drove up a winding road to his one-bedroom home of nearly two decades outside the community of El Cariso Village in the Santa Ana Mountains in California.

Feb 5, 2024 | memoirland.substack.com | Rachel PARSONS |Judith Hermann |Katy Derbyshire |Rebecca Solnit

Welcome to Memoir Land—a newsletter edited by , now featuring four verticals:Memoir Monday, a weekly curation of the best personal essays from around the web brought to you by Narratively, The Rumpus,  Granta, Guernica, Oldster Magazine, Literary Hub, Orion Magazine, The Walrus, and Electric Literature. Below is this week’s curation. First Person Singular, featuring original personal essays. Recently I published “Seeing Someonw,” by . A new essay is coming soon.