“Cake and candles G!” was the first message Gerard saw when he opened his eyes. He assumed this was a new way guys said happy birthday, but Deran had been 36 for a full five months. In other words, he was too damn old to be saying cake and candles. Instead of texting that, he … Read more
Some people meet their heroes in arenas, pressed against barricades with cameras in the air. I met mine over a bowl of collard greens at a table where President Obama once sat. The Wilkes House in Savannah has been feeding strangers like family since 1870. What was once a boarding house run by the formidable … Read more
This story contains sensitive content Racial and Class conflict Philadelphia, 1919 — First Person The smell of polish clung to the air like it was part of the walls—sharp, sweet, and determined to linger. The movers’ boots pounded the wooden stairs, rattling the carved banister. Ryan stood at the doorway, his sleeves rolled … Read more
I was trending again. Not for the reasons I was used to. Not because of my signature #GlowWithAlex serum, or the Vogue cover shoot where I was draped in a Valentino cape the color of crushed garnets. It wasn’t even because I’d just been named to the 2025 Sephora Squad, a career pinnacle that had … Read more
This story contains themes or mentions of physical violence, gore, or abuse. Sound, in the true desert, is a force that catches you unawares always. In the bleakness of sand and scrub a shack adjoins a small house with two horses tied to a hitching post leaning their heads down standing aside the wall trying … Read more