(Note: Names and personal details in this essay have been changed.) How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news — Isaiah 52:7 I am sitting on the cold brick-red tiles of the mudroom floor, putting on Helen’s shoes. I’ve gotten one of her indoor slippers off — velcro straps unpeeled, foot extracted. I cradle this foot in its pink woolly sock, ankle twisted at a slight angle, cramped, curled-up toes inside. I feel the squish of the foam toe-separato

(Content warning: this story contains sensitive material related to child sexual abuse, rape. Please read at your own discretion.) At the...

In the midst of training for a trail race, I traveled to a conference in Phoenix. Thinking of the pain I would be in if I didn’t keep up...