Meeting the family. It’s a big, uncomfortable step into foreign territory. But when someone is ready to let you in, it’s not just about your comfort zone.

As our Writer of the Year, Zach’s inner circle has grown notably more prestigious. But unfortunately, that means cutting the fat. Sorry Sting. You’re uninvited from ravioli night.

You go hiking. Into the woods, up the mountains, into the meadows. It’s just you and your notebook and your feelings. What’s inside when you’re outside?

You know exactly the type, don’t you? Square orientation food video. Something generic, simple, delicious, empty, and depressing.

Maybe there’s a glimmer of hope here. Maybe we’re more alike than we think. Maybe it’s just a matter of finding a place to sit and a strong cup of coffee.

Zach’s Airbnb guests have a destructive obsession with the mirror. But their vanity crosses a line, messing with the overall feng shui and an old, treasured friend.

AKA Wu Tang Clam ain’t nothin’ to shuck with.

The deer was still breathing when the young boy got there. But not the next day or the day after or the day after. How youth understands death, up close.

Want to get an early start on your summer reading? Zach offers year-by-year book recommendations for the young misanthropes just starting out.