Are there some stories that are best left untold? In this essay, American expat BJ Stolbov recounts a decades-old experience which—until now— had remained private.
A Letter From Lockdown in Santa Barbara, California
Homebound with some time on her hands during the COVID-19 pandemic, Melissa Devor, reaches out from Santa Barbara, California, to share what’s happening in her world.
Leaving Fez, Biting Our Nails
Making plans in Fez for a last-minute Sahara excursion during Ramadan proved to be a bit of a gamble for retired American Michael Papas. As he handed over a stack of cash, he wondered if he was being foolish or if trusting a stranger in a foreign land would pay off.
Very, Very Short Mother's Day Stories
We challenged YourLifeIsATrip.com writers to tell us their Mother's Day tales in 25 words or less. But don’t let the small size fool you. At the heart of each of these very very short essays is a powerful story. So this is our gift to you — some very very short stories from the YourLifeIsATrip.com family.
From the Bottom of Africa
Rinki Cohn proudly reports from South Africa about how the country, with just a fraction of the resources of a lot of countries, has successfully flattened its COVID-19 curve and how leaders there are really trying to do the right things.
The Opposite of Loneliness: How travel transforms the experience of solitude and staying home.
Thirty-seven days into self-isolation Ellen Barone asked her husband Hank, “Are you lonely?” Like much of the world’s population, they are physical-distancing and staying home to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19. Would this, she worried, lead to loneliness? And, in turn, to biological effects as deadly as the virus itself? Instead, isolation has brought clarity to something they’d innately suspected all along.
Isolation in the Time of Pandemic
With a successful gallery business shuttered by COVID-19, Susanna Starr muses on adaptation, aging, and life in isolation in northern New Mexico.
Sitting on Buddha's Head
It was 1976 and Mike Chambers was in Afghanistan on his way to see a standing Buddha that had been carved out of the walls of a canyon some fourteen hundred years earlier. Not long afterward, Afghanistan slipped back into the chaos it was to suffer for decades. and the experience had faded into memory until, 25-years later when Bamiyan's Buddha appeared in a TV news post.
Boundaries
BJ Stolbov, an American expat living in the Philippines, reminisces about changes in human freedom of movement and the futility of nationalistic boundaries during a global health crisis.
A Viral Pilgrimage
Elyn Aviva has spent more than half of her life going on, studying, or writing about pilgrimage—specifically, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Today, as she adjusts to the disorientation of isolation, she poses the question: Could it be that like a pilgrimage, this pandemic offers an opportunity to journey inward and engage in deep self-exploration?
Goers and Stayers
As more and more folks seek their tribes, author Jules Older adds one more tribe to the list. It’s more significant than Jewish or Buddhist, Italian or Iranian, male or female, maybe even gay or straight—goers and stayers.
Staying Home During Coronavirus COVID-19 In 25-word Short Stories
Each one of us is adjusting to the new normal of social distancing and self-isolation in different ways. We thought we’d open a door to the private lives of our writers, so you can see what they are feeling and thinking and doing —expressed in 25 words or less.
How Travel Saved My Soul and Sanity
Perfect vacation spot. Check. Perfect partner. Check. So why did Stephanie Ambarsumyan feel anything but perfect? It was an important question and one that she hadn’t realized needed asking until she went away.
Migration Time
After eleven happy years as American expats in Spain, Elyn Aviva, and her husband Gary White, made the unexpected decision to return to the United States to make a new home in a new place.
Skiing my way. Living my way.
Boundary setting and truth speaking have been a lifelong journey for Nancy King. So when she honestly communicated what she wanted and needed in a ski buddy to a friend, it was more than a difficult conversation, it was a chance to bring her authentic self to the relationship.
Sexy, Funny, Tender, Quirky 25-Word Valentine's Day Stories
This is our Valentine's Day gift to you--some very very short stories from some of our stellar writers. You can read each one in a single breath.
The Best Laid Travel Plans
Michael Papas was forced to adapt his travel plans on the fly after learning that his visitor visa had expired.
Out of My Depth in Turkey
It was 1984 and Cynthia Marshall Shore, at 25 years old, was traveling with friends through Turkey when found herself over her head after getting involved with a Turkish soccer pro turned naval officer.
Bargaining for Christmas in Jerusalem
In Jerusalem, and away from his family for the first Christmas since his divorce, Michael Papas wanted to purchase something special. The experience took an unexpected turn, however, when he bargained with a shopkeeper.
Meow Wolf: Where Wonderment Compensates for a Lack of Words
Travel writer Fyllis Hockman was left speechless (well, almost) by a visit to Meow Wolf, an immersive art experience in Santa Fe, New Mexico.