“Anger wrestled my grief to the mat. ... The news of uncle’s death had cracked open my heart, but a great many griefs came pouring out.”

The history of Thanksgiving can help us appreciate the miracle of being alive in this time and place, and the timeless gift of gratitude can ground us through any storm.

A Florida woman claimed to have more than 10 years of experience in grant writing. In reality, her last known employment was at a Krystal, and she was on probation for stealing cash deposits from it.

Candace Echols says The Retreat House is “A place that feels like a massage, a nap, a good book, a cup of coffee and afternoon recess on a countryside playground — all together at the same time.”

Joshua Henry Narcisse: This year I am a widower. And I am approaching these coming weeks with curiosity. I am interested to see what these hard and happy days will bring.

Two Memphis schools are now several months into their decisions to go completely phone-free during classroom hours. Last week, Candace Echols checked in with both campuses to see how things are going.

“It isn’t new for bitterness and meanness to enter into American politics. It existed even from people we consider to be the founders of the nation.”

“Seventy-two hours from now, everybody will be in the same boat: The votes will have been cast, and once the votes have been counted, we’ll all know who won. And ... we will all know who lost.”

“When patients meet with me on the edge of or amid crisis, my job is to help them to see that among the broken pieces, something remains. Often, that is the choice to let go.”

“What happens in a Memphis marriage if one spouse is committed to staying in this city, but the other spouse is worn out by all that has happened and all they want to do is go?”

“Returning Shelby County to a wealth-based system of justice that favors the affluent harms everyone else at enormous taxpayer expense. Policies like the Standing Bail Order that can build a safer, smarter, fairer future deserve our support.”

“TVA is trying to distract us from remembering its broken promise and now charging us higher rates to fund self-congratulatory ads aimed at making us grateful to be their customer.”

“My son was just walking to a friend’s house, doing what millions of children do every day. He had his whole life ahead of him. That life was stolen from him.”

“Domestic violence remains an issue affecting more individuals than most realize with one in four women and one in seven men experiencing severe physical violence from an intimate partner in their lifetimes.”

“Most of us emphasize learning from the past or planning for the future. Unfortunately, this often leads to living in the past and agonizing about the future.”

“As children will spend most of their early lives in classrooms, fostering curiosity outside of school can help make their educational journeys more fun and fruitful.”

Memphis author Lora Chilton writes: “What can be done to remedy the ongoing and past violence against Native people? Acknowledging the history by telling the stories is one way to start the healing process.”

“Why has the American adult world gone so nuts over these two fresh pastimes?”

“I understand why civic leaders in our community want to maintain strong relationships with people in both parties,” Ashley Coffield writes. “But the extremism and attacks on Memphis from elected officials will not stop.”

“(The gun referendum) doesn’t practically affect any of the violent crime issues facing Memphis. Passing a law that can’t be enacted is just noise when we need action.”

“Studies have shown as many as 50% of the matters brought to primary-care physicians have no basis in a problem that any pharmaceutical can help.”

“As utterly wonderful as a place may be, it really is the people who are the heartbeat behind it.” Now the North Carolina mansion is closed indefinitely.

“We may make our choices alone, but we share the consequences with others. The actions of these officers have impacted multiple families, a police department, a city and a profession.”

“Thirty-nine of my 46 years have been spent in Memphis. But this week, I have seen five things in Memphis that are all fairly new to me.”