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We’re Still Thinking About These Five Maine Stories

The My Maine essay has been a staple of Down East for decades. Sometimes funny, sometimes nostalgic, often poignant, they’re the first-person stories of Maine as its lived, loved, and remembered — and often the first pages our readers turn to. Here are few recent entries that have stuck with us.

 


Earnest Goes to Camp
“Earnest Goes to Camp,” July 2016

This essay by Pulitzer winner David Shribman is a fond and funny recollection of his Maine camp experience, but beyond that, it’s a thoughtful take on the lifetime value of being acquainted with the outdoors, starting at a young age. — Will Grunewald, associate editor

 

 


Heirlooms

“Heirlooms,” September 2015

Living in a Maine home often means living alongside history, and essayist Carrie Braman perfectly captures the beauty, mystery, and twinge of melancholy that many of us find as we peel back the layers of stories that swaddle our homesteads. — Brian Kevin, managing editor

 

 


“Fee Simple Absolute,” July 2013

Author Ted Gup‘s meditation on the limits of ownership is really a reflection on mortality, steeped in grief after a heartbreaking loss — and a reminder of how the Maine landscape can prompt the kind of soul-searching that helps us heal. — Virginia M. Wright, senior editor

 

 

 

 


 

Illustration of a packed car moving to maine, one of the best places to live in the US

 

Jennifer Van Allen

“Why I Moved to Maine,” June 2017

Down East editor in chief Kathleen Fleury just nails the quality-of-life quotient in this essay. Sure, it’s hard to make a living, but with the woods, the water, the quiet, and the community, our days are much richer. — Jennifer Van Allen, branded content editor

 

 

 


 

Kathleen Fleury

“The Jump,” August 2014

Everyone in the office loved this sweet personal essay by former Down East assistant editor Caroline Praderio. Anyone who has their own coming-of-age story with a Maine summer as its backdrop will recognize themselves in it.  — Kathleen Fleury, editor in chief

 

 

 


Never miss a My Maine! Subscribe to Down East for $2 an issue, or send a gift subscription to someone who loves Vacationland.

The My Maine essay has been a staple of Down East for decades. Sometimes funny, sometimes nostalgic, often poignant, they’re the first-person stories of Maine as its lived, loved, and remembered — and often the first pages our readers turn to. Here are few recent entries that have stuck with us.

 


Earnest Goes to Camp
“Earnest Goes to Camp,” July 2016

This essay by Pulitzer winner David Shribman is a fond and funny recollection of his Maine camp experience, but beyond that, it’s a thoughtful take on the lifetime value of being acquainted with the outdoors, starting at a young age. — Will Grunewald, associate editor

 


Heirlooms

“Heirlooms,” September 2015

Living in a Maine home often means living alongside history, and essayist Carrie Braman perfectly captures the beauty, mystery, and twinge of melancholy that many of us find as we peel back the layers of stories that swaddle our homesteads. — Brian Kevin, managing editor

 


“Fee Simple Absolute,” July 2013

Author Ted Gup‘s meditation on the limits of ownership is really a reflection on mortality, steeped in grief after a heartbreaking loss — and a reminder of how the Maine landscape can prompt the kind of soul-searching that helps us heal. — Virginia M. Wright, senior editor

 


 

Illustration of a packed car moving to maine, one of the best places to live in the US

 

“Why I Moved to Maine,” June 2017

Jennifer Van Allen

Down East editor in chief Kathleen Fleury just nails the quality-of-life quotient in this essay. Sure, it’s hard to make a living, but with the woods, the water, the quiet, and the community, our days are much richer. — Jennifer Van Allen, branded content editor

 


 

“The Jump,” August 2014

Kathleen Fleury

Everyone in the office loved this sweet personal essay by former Down East assistant editor Caroline Praderio. Anyone who has their own coming-of-age story with a Maine summer as its backdrop will recognize themselves in it.  — Kathleen Fleury, editor in chief

 


Never miss a My Maine! Subscribe to Down East for $2 an issue, or send a gift subscription to someone who loves Vacationland.