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

My Privilege

He's crumpled in a heap, motionless. My bare knees on the rough sidewalk, my hand to his shoulder, I’m shouting, “Hey mister, take a breath!” Nothing. No pulse. Cells die in five minutes, but how many have already passed? One or two or … ? I hear my voice, yelling to the gym patrons, “call 911, get an AED!” I lift his damp t-shirt, run my fingers along the lowest rib to his breastbone, stack my hands and push straight down, hard and fast. I worry for days, then a card arrives at the gym. Thank you for saving my life.

Cathryn Vogeley is a retired nurse specialist turned writer. Her memoir, I Need to Tell You, was published this month. She's also been published in Grande Dame Literary. Find Cathryn at cathrynreadsandwrites.com.

MY PRIVILEGE was a finalist in Five Minutes’ 2022 Spring Contest: Second Chances. Congratulations, Cathryn!

One-on-One

A Reflection