Share your story
If you have come through something and you think an account of it would help somebody who is still in it, we would like to read what you have written.
What we promise you
- A person reads every submission before anything is published. Nothing goes up automatically, and nothing is published by a machine.
- We aim to reply within 72 hours, whether the answer is yes or no.
- You can withdraw your story at any time, for any reason, without explaining and without asking us. You get a private link when you submit — that link takes it down.
- We will never publish your email address, your full name, or anything that identifies you beyond the pen name you choose.
- We may suggest edits — for length, for clarity, or because something in it would not pass our safe-messaging rules. You always see and approve the final wording before it goes up.
- We will never add a method, a detail, or a dramatic flourish to your story, and we will not publish one that describes a method.
One editorial condition
Every story we publish reaches the part where something changed. That does not mean it has to end with everything being fine — most do not, and the honest ones rarely do. But it has to get to the turn. If yours cannot honestly get there yet, we will say so kindly, and we would rather you sent it to us again later than not at all.
Before you write
- Please do not describe a method. Not in passing, not to explain what happened. We cannot publish it if you do, and we would have to ask you to rewrite the part that matters most to you — which is a horrible thing to ask of someone.
- Writing about the worst of it can be hard going. If you find it is too much, stop. It will still be there another day, and nobody is waiting on it.
- Do not include other people’s names, or details that would identify them. They did not consent to this; you did.
Your email address is stored so we can reply to you and so you can withdraw. It is never published, never shared, and never used for anything else. See our privacy notice.