Is during the next family tragedy. She picks me up from the airport. Brings me a bottle of cold water, cucumber-infused facial wipes, an orange, and a jumbo box of Cheez-Its, which she knows I won’t eat. I’m always trying—for once and finally—to be skinny. I slide, sweaty and exhausted and chubby, into her passenger seat. “Where to this time?” she asks. “Bali?” She opens the water bottle because she knows I’m no good at that. “I was thinking Cambodia,” I say. “I hear the noodles are … [Read more...] about The Only Time I See My Sister
generational trauma
Spare the Rod
ASF is recognizing Black History Month by sharing, for the first time online, four stories from our Winter 2020 issue, which showcased emerging Black writers selected by guest editor and PEN American Robert W. Bingham Prize winner Danielle Evans. Here is author Rickey Fayne, reflecting on the experience of writing this story: I began the story that became “Spare the Rod” as an assignment for a workshop led by Maya Perez (whose amazing story also appears in Issue 72). When I sat down to … [Read more...] about Spare the Rod