Nonfiction Essays

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

Poet Joy Harjo reflects on the importance of maintaining her ancestors' connection to the sun, in "Talking with the Sun,"* her contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series. This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the...

Frank X. Walker sees many supposed survival skills as "Creative Solutions to Life’s Challenges" in his contribution to NPR's This I Believe series. This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous to the unknown, completing the thought that begins with...

In this essay originally aired in the 1950s, Former Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas encourages a return to the faith of his father's generation in "My Father’s Evening Star"*, his contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series. This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that...

In this essay originally aired in the 1950s, novelist and screenwriter Niven Busch discusses faith, prayer, and subway rides in "The Fellowship of the World", his contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series. This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the...

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author on the value of creative writing, American Democracy, and science.

In this essay originally aired in the 1950s, composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein expresses his belief in the potential of people to create change, in "The Mountain Disappears," his contribution to NPR's This I Believe series. This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features...

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

Professor of psychiatry Kay Redfield Jamison describes the power of intense emotions and temperaments in "The Benefits of Restlessness and Jagged Edges", her contribution to NPR’s This I Believe series. This I Believe is a National Public Radio program that features Americans, from the famous...

This essay comes from the NPR series This I Believe, which features brief personal reflections from both famous and unknown Americans. The pieces that make up the series compel listeners to rethink not only what and how they have arrived at their beliefs, but also the extent to which they share them with others.

The legendary dancer and choreographer on the importance of practice and the grace that comes from faith.