We talk with hands dangling from the side of a boat, fingers grazing the surface and ambling gently down the Illinois river, RV camps lining the banks alive and discarded. I lose you in intermittent blinding sunlight shot through a dense cloud bank. “Don’t go where I can’t find you.” …

“He felt the initial annoyance quickly dissipate when he noticed how cute she was. He wasn’t proud of this.” — A sudden spasm of turbulence shook Kyle from his sleep, drumming his head gently against the plastic sheen covering the window. He opened his eyes to peer out across the expanse of night sky from 30,000 feet up. His view was dominated almost entirely by an enormous cumulonimbus cloud about…

How sharing my rehab journey on social media helped me stay sober — In the 17 years since I began regularly abusing alcohol, I had turned the act of concealing my addiction into a dark science. By all outward appearances, I was an open book — relatively emotionally adept, always game to discuss with close friends any issues I’d faced in my family…

The first story begins with two people — a young man and woman — unloading some equipment from the bed of a pickup truck. I mean obviously the story began some time before this but the specific starting point we’re picking here is a dirt road next to a wheat…

Not long after the rest of the party had left, Chloe decided it was time for her to leave too. It was late — going on 2 a.m. — and she could tell Ian was getting tired, trooper that he was. “I drank a lot of water but I’m still…

These are the 6 best romantic gestures, in descending order: 6. Making direct eye contact with your partner, ask them how their day has been so far. Avoid becoming distracted by external stimuli, or lost in thought. When they are finished telling you, ask how tomorrow will be. Your tomorrow…

This coming Friday I’ll be 8 months sober — or two-thirds of one year. 8 months free of alcohol, painkillers, or sleeping pills. I feel good about that. I’m feeling more and more comfortable in my sobriety, and I finally found a therapist I really like, and click with. She…

5 stars (out of 5 stars) In many respects, 2017 has been a strange and sad year, filled with social upheaval, political unrest, and natural calamities — and we still have four months to go. …

Back in February, when I was a couple weeks into rehab, a New York band called Wild Pink released their self-titled debut LP. For the life of me I can’t remember how I even discovered it, but on Thursday night I saw them play a show at a small club…