The Names I Answer To
My mother called me la Sandra. My sisters call me Ale. In Russia, I was Sasha, and in America, sometimes Alexandria. Then I chose S.A. Sterling for my books. A personal essay about family names, the names we acquire along the way, and the people who know exactly what to call us.
Navi Pillay and the Women Who Changed Her Mind
After Navi Pillay won the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, I went looking for the woman behind the honours. Her story led me from her mother’s determination to her own early mistakes—and to the encounters that changed how she understood justice.
The Things We Inherit Without Being Given
What do we inherit from the women before us without ever being formally given it? A reflection on mothers, daughters, family memory, the habits we keep, the rules we unlearn, and the quiet ways one life continues inside another.
The Things We Understand Too Late: Reading Natalia Ginzburg’s Caro Michele
Natalia Ginzburg’s Caro Michele made me think about the things we often understand too late: the happiness hidden inside ordinary days, the words we never said, the lives of those we love but can never fully know, and the strange way regret becomes part of everyday life.