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writer, storyteller, memoirist.

Hi, I'm Lena! I've been writing publicly about my life since 2016, in my blog Sidebraid Stories. I'm currently seeking publication for my debut memoir. My life to date in four emojis: 🏀🌈🤪💛

"Leap and the net will appear."

more of my work

sidebraid stories

In 2016, I moved my writing from the closet to The Internet (dun-dun-dun). My online blog Sidebraid Stories is my public diary, where I write about my college basketball days, coming out, Anxiety, the love bug, my blended family, friendship, quarter-life existentialism, and only my most intimate, eyebrow-raising thoughts.

featured work

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Brian Rea

Letting the Light In

My 100-word love story featured in The New York Times (December 2024)

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Brian Rea

My Basketball Miracle

Part of the anthology Storytellers’ True Stories About Family by Chicago Story Press

(October 2024)

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Sophie Henry

Naked

A personal narrative published in the Yale Daily News (November 2024)

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