Strokes and hugs are being edged out of our lives, with doctors, teachers and colleagues increasingly hesitant about social touching. Is this hypervigilance of boundaries beginning to harm our mental health?

Good archival practices might not be exciting, but they could be the key to keeping your family history intact for future generations.

A feral child was found starving, covered in her own filth, unable to walk or talk. A new family adopted the girl in 2007, called her Dani, and tried to make up for years of neglect. By Lane DeGregory.

Awoken from sleep late one night, Lacey Dunkin received a phone call that would forever change the course of her life. The call was from a social worker asking if Dunkin, of Fresno, California, would be able to accept four girls into emergency foster care. She said yes and within a few hours had a 5-year-old, a pair of 2-year-old twins, and a 1-year-old running around her home in the middle of the night.

Karen Brown recalls conspiring with her father in his final weeks to find some humor in the pain.

Deloy Oberlin didn't know how much time his wife had left, but he knew he wanted to spend their final days fulfilling her last wish. [A home funeral.] By Libby Copeland.

Rolling Stone just published a bit of a stargazing profile of Elon Musk and in it the Silicon Valley rocket boy comes across as....uh.....dark. Here are just a few of his quotes from the piece. By Raphael Orlove.

As Father's Day approaches, two Helsinki day care centres have decided to rename the paternal celebration to be more inclusive, but some people on social media responded with dismay. A day care chief says their updated curriculum includes an equality policy mandate.

When my house burned down with Mom’s ashes inside, I lost her all over again. By Andria Stone.

Two Step Films Ltd.

An Italian librarian has won the right to use family sick leave to care for her ailing dog. The ruling means the woman does not have to use annual leave days to stay by the side of the English setter she considers to be part of her family. Italian animal advocacy group LAV says it helped persuade public La Sapienza University to let her use two days' family sick leave to care for 12-year-old Cucciola.

In April, the Trump Administration launched what it called the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) hotline, with a stated mission to “provide proactive, timely, adequate, and professional services to victims of crimes committed by removable aliens.” But internal logs of calls to VOICE obtained by Splinter show that hundreds of Americans seized on the hotline to lodge secret accusations against acquaintances, neighbors, or even their own family members, often to advance petty personal grievances. By Daniel Rivero and Brendan O'Connor.

Guardians can sell the assets and control the lives of senior citizens without their consent—and reap a profit from it. By Rachel Aviv.

Shifting market forces, immigration reform, and a lack of interest from younger generations mean that black farmers in the small town of Covert, Michigan, are at a crossroads. By Bim Adewunmi.

Taken By Trees

When I was a kid, my Dad taught me all about werewolves. Little did I know he was preparing me to understand his depression. By John Brownlee.

It is no accident that our age of hyper-capitalism is also one of aggressive “family values,” pursued in popular culture and legislation alike. By James Chappel.

This man essentially time travelled 44 years. (Dec. 23, 2016)

Funny story: My old man gets cancer, survives, vows thenceforth to see as much of the world as he can, drags me all over creation, and leaves mind-bending mishaps in his wake. Our next mission? Tour rapidly defrosting Iceland and Greenland. Bad idea? You could say that. By Wells Tower.

Michael Schofield thought his young daughter, Janni, was a genius, until he realised her bright mind masked an inner darkness. (Aug. 25, 2012)