“My grandfather fights to gain control of his hand, but he can’t stop it from trembling.”
Spring of 1995 | Taiwan | By CHENG-LING CHEN

“Joe was homeless, but he had more than I did. My clothes were cleaner, but he wrote better poetry.”
December 2004 | San Francisco, California | By AMY DERBY

“I went inside and sat on my bed. I snuggled the small brown package and began to cry.”
Christmas 2005 and 2006 | San Francisco, California | By JAYNE ENTWISTLE

“Margaret never overstayed her welcome, and she never tried to be my mom’s friend…. She just sat with her and prayed.”
2001 | Illinois | By CARMELLA RILEY

“Some, like my husband Peter, didn’t believe in any god at all. Not after this. Not after September 11.”
2001 to 2002 | New York, Dominican Republic, New Jersey | By CATHERINE M. BROWN

“I could see myself sliding down the hill into the kudzu-blanketed ravine, but somehow, I managed to coast into a parking lot.”
June 2007 | Tuscaloosa, Alabama | By CARMEN K. SISSON

“On that hot, miserable day, when our water pump finally blew steaming water all over the windshield, we babied it to an exit.”
August 2004 | just off Route 81, Pennsylvania | By LAURA J. WORMUTH

“A dozen puzzled customers stared at me like I was crazy. I yelled at them to empty their pockets.”
Fall of 1993 | San Francisco, California | By PATRI COLLINS

“Suddenly, I felt exhausted. How could I talk about this to a stranger, a citizen of the country that had nearly killed my mother?”
June 2007 | Piran, Slovenia | By ROZ LEISER

“Most of the children in Union, Arkansas, were African-American, but there were a few white kids who were our buddies as well.”
July 1993 | Union County, Arkansas | By CHLOE M. CRATER