Emma Leaning

Columnist
Rebuilding: eight life lessons 2022 taught me - China Opinion
Opinion

Rebuilding: eight life lessons 2022 taught me

I’ve got bad news: We all get damaged. You have a 100 percent chance of being broken ... And through it all, you’ll need to do some rebuilding.
No but really, should we contact aliens? - China Opinion
Opinion

No but really, should we contact aliens?

When we can’t settle on anything from abortion rights, climate change and gun laws to gender, God and Sam Smith’s Brit 2023 outfit, are we mature enough to talk to aliens?
Show us your Shanghai Tootsie Shot - China Opinion
Opinion

Show us your Shanghai Tootsie Shot

To Tootsie is to tell yourself you're the star of your own show. You are strong enough to carry your story and deserving of your own success.
Dear Santa, a(nother) word about your performance - China Opinion
Opinion

Dear Santa, a(nother) word about your performance

I've given up on the idea of well-mannered dogs or socks with sex appeal. But home is something I cannot let go of. Because home is central to the human experience.
Atheism 2.0: blessing 2023 with new faith - China Opinion
Opinion

Atheism 2.0: blessing 2023 with new faith

The guidance and rules look comforting at a distance. But there's another way that doesn't cast non-believers into a spiritual wasteland between Starbucks and Tabao.
Words kill: the dangerous language of gender-based violence - China Opinion
Opinion

Words kill: the dangerous language of gender-based violence

Gender-based violence isn't just violence. It's directed and purposeful, with roots deep in society that maintain inequality.
Camping in the gray zone: a case against black and white mentality - China Opinion
Opinion

Camping in the gray zone: a case against black and white mentality

Take any significant part of life and paint it a color. It's gray. It's gray because anything meaningful is complicated, and any other shade will paint a different picture.
What do you weigh? How (and why) I lost a stone in Huangshan - China Opinion
Opinion

What do you weigh? How (and why) I lost a stone in Huangshan

We're all packing something we don't want or need. Whatever the thing is, there's no good or growth. It's a load on our back and a pressure around our hearts.
Not a travel diary: Shanghai's mangled columnist goes home - China Opinion
Opinion

Not a travel diary: Shanghai's mangled columnist goes home

I'm leaving Shanghai. Not for good, just for a bit, and I want you to come with me. Why? Because I'm not the only human to ever get mangled.
Surviving Sexual Assault Part 3: The survivor's journey - MENTAL in China
MENTAL

Surviving Sexual Assault Part 3: The survivor's journey

While no experience is the same, there is a universal truth: All survivors of sexual trauma have lost something. But is there potential for growth after trauma?
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