Thank you, Kyoko, for taking the time to share your story with us. Each of your essays beautifully captured the perspective and struggles you were experiencing at the time. Today, as we revisit those words together, I’m excited to hear more about what you felt, how you have changed, and what lies ahead. When you look back at the essays you wrote, what thoughts and feelings come up? The World Looked Gray When I think back to the time I wrote my first essay, the world seemed

The Road Ahead: Moving Toward Life Author： Lemon “Good morning! The stress from my divorce court date pushed me to go for a longer run...

T he hero got the compass! Author： Romy For me, running was like the intense training a protagonist undergoes in a boy’s adventure manga....

Nurturing myself at my own pace Author：Tsubame Hanaoka "Why now of all times..." Sometimes, bad events pile up one after another, hitting...

Running opened my memory box Author： Jinny 6 PM. As soon as the alarm goes off, I jump up from my desk, head to the door, and start my...

Title： Running Towards a New Chapter Author： Kao My daughter is in her second year of middle school. She doesn’t go to school. She spends...

Title： The Blessing of Boredom Author： Sachiko In a public housing apartment, at a built-in small desk in a wall-length bookshelf.  I am...

Title:  Aspiring to be a Steady Bow for You, My Living Arrow Author： Riko My son calls out to me through the door of my home office: "I'm...

Title：　Are you going to be independent? Or not? Author：Hitsuji-no- Oyako “Mum, come downstairs!” I stop working on my computer, stand up,...

Title： The Moon, Us, and the Albums Author： Marni I look through the viewfinder. I can see the backs of the two brothers running across...