I met Erin on a Metra train heading from the suburbs of Chicago to the city, four years after I left the comfortable structure of a Minnesota rehab.
Gradually, Then Suddenly by Tim Hillegonds
Category: Essays
An archive of all of the personal essays we’ve published at Hippocampus Magazine over the years.
Driving with Mom by Brittany Means
Mom drives with one hand on the wheel and the other holding her ribs. She says, “Brittany, don’t ever let a f*cking man tell you what to do.”
Thin by Sabrina Lee
I comment to [my husband] how strange it is to me that our 14-year-old son, who eats almost anything and usually a lot of it, will not eat cereal.
Among Other Things, Fish by Christie Jenkins
Even here, a block back from the beach, the brisk breeze blowing in from the Pacific fills the air with the scent of seaweed and salt.
Looking For Luke Skywalker by Penny Guisinger
Owen’s Star Wars Lego figures, sets, and pieces had been a constant moving currency between my house and my ex-husband’s across the four years since our divorce.
Waiting for the Coroner by Kate Washington
It turns out the coroner has a pamphlet to give the next of kin. It is a single trifold sheet, with the crooked wavy text of multiple generations of photocopying.
Future Perfect by Tricia Theis
The woman who stood in front of me in the checkout line at the grocery store had Down syndrome. She was shorter than me by almost a foot and I couldn’t tell how old she was.
Small Offerings by Jen Grow
In 1995, I was living in a tent in the southern Appalachians trying to stay sober. I was twenty-eight years old, working at a camp for the summer, keeping notes of it all.
The Bolan Mail by Roberto Loiederman
The train runs once per day in each direction. It carries mail, packages, cargo, and passengers, who have the option of sleeper class, sleeper class with air conditioning, and— cheapest of all—economy class, which was what I took in 1973…
The Key Chain by Jennifer Fliss
On my Christmas tree hangs a key chain masquerading as an ornament. It is a small red, white, and blue beaded dog. The colors aren’t Christmasy…
