by Melissa Gopp-Warner | Feb 3, 2023 | Publication
The Half Marathoner When a section hike on the Appalachian Trail re-triggers an old injury, I’m forced to contend with not only my ego, but also my false ideas about aging, identity, and success. Read more 
by Melissa Gopp-Warner | Oct 17, 2022 | Publication
Publishers Weekly My Soapbox essay on memoirist Annie Ernaux’s Nobel Prize win appeared in the October 17, 2022 print issue of Publishers Weekly. It’s time we give more credence to writers, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, who dare to show... 
by Melissa Gopp-Warner | Sep 22, 2022 | Publication
The Banyan Review When my partner and I bought our first house together in a manicured, suburban neighborhood, we decided to transform the land into a yard with purpose. Our sometimes humorous, other times maddening story of effecting change shows what’s possible when... 
by Melissa Gopp-Warner | Jun 13, 2022 | Publication
Jacksonville Mom Signed by Governor Ron DeSantis last spring, the Parental Rights in Education law took effect over the summer and spawned similar bills in more than a dozen other states. Critics’ nickname for the legislation—the “Don’t Say Gay” law—says a lot about... 
by Melissa Gopp-Warner | Dec 4, 2021 | Publication
My work is in volumes I and III and is forthcoming in volume IV of Women Writing for (a) Change, Jacksonville’s anthologies. Each volume features women’s words and art from the Jacksonville community, centering on a new theme each year. The latest volume... 
by Melissa Gopp-Warner | Nov 1, 2020 | Publication
Uncomfortable Revolution In the absence of a formal diagnosis, helping my son understand his differences and learn to become his own advocate has been tricky. In this personal essay, what starts as a stressful event at school leads to a revolutionary conversation...