The July Edit: Family Secrets, Lifelong Regrets and New Classes
This month we're sharing some of the best of what Narratively and Narratively Academy have to offer, from moving memoir essays about love and loss, to a live chat about how to land a book deal + more.
July has been a busy month over at Narratively. We launched The Personals, a new series of sharply focused first-person stories that capture a single surprising unforgettable moment or event — and even pubbed a second story in the series. We also ran a special flash essay contest inspired by the live video chat between Lee Gutkind and Dinty W. Moore over at sister site , and announced the winners of our True Romance Writing Prize (stay tuned for those stories coming soon!). We wanted to share some of those stories below in case you missed them the first time around — and also give you a little taste of what we’ve been up to over at , our space for writers to get inspiration, pick up tips, exchange ideas and more. So, keep scrolling to read astounding stories, watch a seriously inspiring live video chat and learn about our August classes.
1. Letter to My Teenage Self: You Will Be Saved by the Power of Your Words
Sixteen years after going to prison, Kwaneta Harris tells her 13-year-old self everything she wished she knew sooner.
Story by Kwaneta Harris
2. I Wanted to Watch Him Take His Last Breath—But She Said No
My stepmother and I never got along, but not allowing me to be by dad’s side while he was dying crossed a line. I've regretted not standing up to her ever since.
Story by Jen Shepherd
3. WATCH: Novelist Kern Carter on Landing the Book Deal…and What Comes Next
The prolific author chats about how he went from self-publishing novels to inking six book deals—opening about how to query agents, perfect your pitch, and much more.
Live video from Kern Carter and Brendan Spiegel over at
4. The Man Who Betrayed Me Was Also the Man Who Loved Me
I came out of the closet in the throes of the AIDS epidemic and fell for someone I thought was a safe harbor. The blurred lines between his love and his lies have haunted me the rest of my life.
Story by J Martin
5. Unburying My Mother’s Secret
In the last years of her life, a sudden revelation upended my entire image of my mom. It took a decade after her death—and another major life change—for me to see that both versions of her were real.
Story by Cathy Alter
6. Summer 2025 Classes
Ready to tell your story? We’d love to help! Over at we have two amazing classes coming up in August, a three-part workshop from memoirist and poet Rebecca Evans called Untangling the Traumatic Narrative: Using Words to Access Our Wounds, and How to Write About Social Issues in Unprecedented Times from Pushcart Prize-nominated writer Kavita Das. Just a reminder that paid subscribers to Narratively Academy get 20% off all classes. Click here to become a paid subscriber today. (If you already are a paid subscriber, email academy@narratively.com for the paid subscriber promo code.)
Fantastic! I look forward to reading the stories I haven't got to yet :)