Stories for Grown-Ups

By Stories for Grown-Ups

Arts Literature

What's Stories for Grown-Ups about?

Relax with a short fiction story from writer Lauren Markman, written specifically for busy grown-ups to enjoy as they go about their day. Reality is a rough gig - enjoy short stories in the middle of your day.

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My Story: The Whimsical Wha...

02.29.2016

My story today is centered around the idea that many people make their permanent homes in places where most people only vacation. There were never any curtains here. Something about the beach air made people forget that sunlight could be ...

Stories for Grown-Ups episodes:

02.29.2016 My Story: The Whimsical Whale on the Corner My story today is centered around the idea that many people make their permanent homes in places where most people only vacation. There were never any curtains here. Something about the beach air made people forget that sunlight could be ...
01.29.2016 My Story: Instructions for Care My story today is about the way we can put our trust in perfect strangers - like our hair stylists. Maralyn insisted on maintaining the often-seen short spiky hairdo that older woman gravitated toward when they give up. She resisted ...
06.21.2015 My Story: At Night I Dream of Mermaids My story today revolves around something most of us thoroughly enjoy – sleep. But what if you didn't need to sleep anymore. How would you spend that extra time in your day? Stella had started a late-night crafting group and ...
05.08.2015 My Story: The Days Between Heartbeats My story today echoes in silence - from children, from heartbeats and from the things that we do not say to the people we love. At pickup time my sister is late. Or rather she is always late for our ...
04.20.2015 My Story: Bus People My story today is built around the idea of strangers on the bus. The shared intimacy of taking a long trip together can take its toll on people - both for the good and the bad: A thin young man ...
03.22.2015 My Story: Once Upon a Midnight Summer My story today is set in the same way all parents tell stories to their children: With certain details omitted. What you want your children to know and what actually happened are two completely separate stories: Of course, there is ...
09.08.2014 My Story: A Brilliant Shade of Blue Sometimes a story buzzes around in my head for a while before I am able to get it right — this is certainly the case with my story for today. I like to ask people what their first memories are ...
05.11.2014 My Story: When It’s Enough My story today is a little more personal than most of my others, because the mother in the story is based on my own mother — a woman I greatly respect, admire and love. Children retain so many memories of ...
03.14.2014 My Story: The Virus Is the Cure A familiar, soft buzzing noise is at the heart of my story. It's amazing how that little buzz/ping/beep has integrated into our days. There is the phantom buzz where you think you heard your phone, but aren't sure. And there ...
03.01.2014 My Story: The Separated Life of Annie Good My story today focuses on the idea that we all have very different childhoods. But what if yours was so unusual, you had to hide it? In The Separated Life of Annie Good, we meet a woman who lies about ...
02.22.2014 My story: The Repetition of an Unlived Life In my story today, we take a look at the repercussions of our final words. Some people claim that if they could repeat their lives, they wouldn't change a thing. That can't be true — just think of all the ...
01.25.2014 My story: After the Kidnapping My story today is a bit darker than usual. Today's story, After the Kidnapping, is a single-person perspective from a woman trying to deal with a traumatic event in her life, but it's hard for her to keep all her ...
01.19.2014 My story: I Should Have Peed Before I Left My story today includes a little motherly advice. We are all familiar with motherly advice — that nagging (and usually correct) voice in our heads. In today's story — I Should Have Peed Before I Left — we hear advice ...
01.11.2014 My story: Growing Up Along the Edge As my story today shows, the edge of something can be razor sharp or a bit blurred at times. But, no matter the case, you have to be careful when approaching it. In Growing Up Along the Edge, the narrator ...
01.04.2014 My story: Malibu Barbie; Roller Skates; Concert Tickets; Fuzzy Socks & Tulips My story today — Malibu Barbie; Roller Skates; Concert Tickets; Fuzzy Socks and Tulips on a Rainy Day — is a story about lists. We all keep those secret lists in our heads: Of things we've done, things we'd like ...
12.21.2013 My story: Waking up with Strangers My story today has a happy ending. A lot of my storytelling podcast posts don't have a happy ending. I think that is part of the problem with stories — outside of certain genres (romance novels, fairy tales), most stories ...
12.14.2013 My story: Woman with Eggs on Bus My story today has an unusual title, but stay with me. This storytelling podcast explores that cast of background characters that seem to follow people in their daily lives. You see the same faces everywhere — on your morning commute, ...
12.06.2013 My story: Memories of Being Ticklish on a Hot Summer’s Day My story today deals with memories. We all know that the older we get, the more our memories fail us: First kisses, the ways we spent our summer vacations and even being ticklish fade away with time. But what if ...
11.21.2013 My story: The Nine Types of Office People You Meet My story today is dedicated to the people who sit in a cube all day. Inter-office politics are hard to avoid, and for most office workers they are just a part of working life. In The Nine Types of People ...
11.14.2013 My story: The End of Jealousy My story today is a bit more literary than usual. In Othello, jealousy drives the main characters to acts of deceit, betrayal and violence. At the most extreme end of the spectrum, Iago is a man no one wants to ...
11.07.2013 My story: Drinking in the Daylight My story today is a bit darker than my usual tales, but it all comes down to choice. Drinking in the Daylight details a world where women can choose to be mothers or have careers, but not both. Faced with ...
11.01.2013 My story: Technical Witch Craft My story today is an oldie, but a goodie. Technical Witch Craft first appeared in print in 2000, but I cleaned it up and expanded it a bit here as a fun story for Halloween. Writers and witches have the ...
10.23.2013 My story: The Book Critic Dumps His Girlfriend My story today involves a pretty bad break-up. Most people can't help but bring their work home with them, and the narrator in The Book Critic Dumps His Girlfriend is no different. As he parts ways with his girlfriend, the ...
10.15.2013 My story: Just (a morality tale) My story today is about morals...sort of. In Just, which is a morality tale for the 21st century, the listener gets to choose the fate of the main couple. But be forewarned before you listen: Just is full of betrayal ...
10.10.2013 My story: His Wife’s Secret Admirer My story today is about secret admirers. A secret admirer can crop up when we least expect it — even in a marriage. In today's story, Daniel learns that there are really three people in his marriage: Daniel, his wife ...
10.02.2013 My story: Afternoons in the Park My story today is about growing up and moving on. Women often forget who they are and begin measuring life by the events of their children. In Afternoons in the Park, a young mother realizes her own childhood is sitting ...
09.24.2013 My story: Her Mother’s Last Words My story today is about last words. People's last words are the ones that stay with us — no matter if that person is a celebrity, a close friend or a parent. It's really hard for parents to let their ...
09.19.2013 My story: The Weight of Our Objects My story today is about the longstanding battle that goes on in so many homes. Every day, men and woman battled for home territory with their personal knickknacks. In The Weight of Our Objects, Christina thinks of the house as ...
09.17.2013 My story: Everyday Lives My story today is about memory. Although I can't really tell you how to remember everything, I can offer this challenge instead: Would you really want to? What would it be like to really remember every moment of your life? ...
09.16.2013 My story: Boring (not really) The title of my story for you today doesn't tell the whole picture. Boring features a woman who doesn't know how to make friends, so she goes about the process in a more unconventional manner. It was in the third ...
09.14.2013 My story: Hugging Strangers Today, I'd like to share my story, Hugging Strangers. This tale is about a woman suffering from an uncertain case of mistaken identity. The incident brings on a rather sudden case of guilt during a remarkable windy lunch break. Sometimes ...