There’s nothing like the serendipity of encountering the right essay at the right time. A concise idea or insightful turn of phrase can knock your socks off — or open your heart, change your mind, and restore your soul. Yes, we speak from experience! 

That’s why Zibby Mag combed through the archives and handpicked our favorite essays of 2023. Think of this as an album of essays. They’re distinct, yet each “track” is in conversation with the rest. Go in order, read on repeat, or start with the one that screams pick me! These 10 (okay, 12—we had a few ties) will stay with you for years to come. 

Here are the essays that: 

1. Gave us chills: The Memorializing Power of a Name by Michael Frank

2. Restored our faith in love: How Sobriety Became My Dating Superpower by Sarah Levy  

3. Inspired us to pick up a pen and start furiously scribbling: The Girl on the Lawn by Mary Otis 

4. Helped us grieve someone we've lost: Saying Goodbye to My Sister by Katherine Sherbrooke and The Road Trip That Reshaped My Mother by Monica Chenault-Kilgore

5. Changed our perspective: Seeing the World Through the Eyes of My Neurodiverse Son by Lauren Belfer 

6. Made us trust our gut: The Summer I Spent Living the Most Glorious Lie by Annabel Monaghan

7. Made us laugh out loud: I Used to Be Cool—Now I’m a Mom by Julie Paige* 

8. Pushed us to embark on a fabulous adventure: I Learned a Big Life Lesson on a Very Small Boat by Margie Smith Holt 

9. Motivated us to pick up a new hobby: Breaking It Down by Greer Hendricks 

10. Made us reach for the tissues:  The Promise of a New Year by Chidiogo Akunyili-Parr and How Baseball Mended My Complicated Relationship with My Father by Wade Rouse  

Have any of these fantastic essays inspired you to dust off your own draft and start writing? A new year deserves a fresh start, so why not sign up for a writing course with Zibby Media’s extraordinary instructor, Darcey Gohring? Our writing courses are interactive, engaging, and most of all, fun! 

*Julie Paige took the Writing Personal Essays & Memoir class and voilà! Her essay is included above! After all, stories—yes, that includes yours — are best when shared. 

Upcoming Classes 

Writing Personal Essays & Memoir:  Monday, January 29 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. EST (4 to 5:30 p.m. PT) for 3 weeks.
​​The Writers' Table: Tuesday, January 9 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EST (8 to 9:30 a.m. PT) for 8 weeks