Five Minutes explores five minutes of a life in one hundred words. Five minutes is edited by Susanna Baird, with editorial support from managing editor Maria s. picone, newsletter editor kate meen, and founding reader bobbi lerman, plus our rotating team of guest readers, who you can meet in the latest newsletteR. Five Minutes was founded in October 2020, with the Salem (Mass.)-based writing group Carrot Cake Writers supplying the journal’s first pieces. We’d love to read your five. Submit here

A Lamp?

My mom and I made the trek to downtown Nairobi to buy a wrought-iron lamp to hang above her dining room table. It was perfect, just the right lighting from its six bulbs. We would all be able to see our food. Agonizing over the price, she asked how she could possibly spend so much money on herself. After much cajoling, she finally made her way to the check-out with the lamp. Hesitating, she checked her phone and was relieved to see an urgent text from one of her orphans. He needed the money more than she needed the lamp.

Christi Byerly is passionate about making the world a braver and more loving place. CEO of Awaken Coach Institute, she trains life coaches to listen at depth. Her students join from around the world. www.awakencoachinstitute.com

Your Father

April 13, 1964