Break From Reality. Daily.
This story is by Sandy Juker and was part of our 2025 Fall Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. A pair of brawny seventh graders, both two years older than me, hooted and hollered, “Keep going Connor! The best ice is in the middle.” They didn’t have the guts to step…
This story is by Sandy Juker and was part of our 2024 Fall Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. April 1931 – The Great Depression My four-year-old son tugged at the frayed hem of my maid’s uniform. “Grammy’s hungry, Mama.” His translucent skin, stretched over protruding cheek bones, stirred an ache…
This story is by Sandy Juker and was part of our 2024 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. Eight-year-old Grazelda Mandel, bullied and shamed by classmates and family, curled her gnarled hand into the folds of a dingy white tutu. With her good hand, she grasped the discarded curtain…
This story is by Sandy Juker and was part of our 2024 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. Eight-year-old Grazelda Mandel, bullied and shamed by classmates and family, curled her gnarled hand into the folds of a dingy white tutu. With her good hand, she grasped the discarded curtain rod…
This story is by Sandy Juker and was part of our 2023 Fall Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. In my dream, Mom plucked two slices of sizzling bacon from the frying pan, crisscrossed them over my egg, and leaned toward me. She peered into my eyes as though probing my…
This story is by Sandy Juker and was part of our 2022 Fall Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. I remember snapping my suspenders, and counting raindrops as they splashed on polished mahogany until Grandpa’s hand, a cold leathery vice, squeezed my shoulder. Grammy’s coffin, splayed with fragrant white roses, slowly…
This story is by Sandy Juker and was part of our 2022 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. The first time happily ever after came knocking at my door, I was a college sophomore bent on finding Prince Charming. Like a princess in a fairy tale, I was sure…
This story is by Sandy Juker and was part of our 10th Anniversary Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. Wrapped in white satin, I floated down a rose petal covered aisle. The plank, I would later call it. A thorny path taken one step at a time, ever edging to…
This story is by Sandy Juker and was part of our 2021 Spring Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here. April 15, 1912 “Save—my—sister!” The words left my mouth but hung in the frigid night air, mingled with a din of frozen screams. No one heard me. And no one in…
