Welcome to the OtherWays, original essays and stories from the edges of modernity, written and curated by the otherWise team.
Featured Series
Rehearsing Our Return to an Earth-Bound World of Many Worlds
Rehearsing Our Return to an Earth-Bound World of Many Worlds is a four-part exploration of how we might practice village-dreaming, village-being, and village-doing in an unraveling world. Each part invites us into a different layer of the work: from reweaving community as so much of the familiar unravels, to remembering how land shapes us; from recovering vital skills and rhythms, to loosening our grasp on the modern story and turning toward the non-dual and plural. These arcing pieces arrange into a spiral, encouraging us to return differently, again and again.
I reVillaging: the Dreamwork and Doing of Unintentional Community
II reGrounding: Land as Site, Source, and Shaper
III reSkilling: Providential Pursuits Shape the Ethics & Energetics of Village Life
IV reTurning: Rearranged & Restoried
Pleasure Vehicle
When Emily Shaljian’s friend sent a photo of her newly registered car—an old black Volvo—with the words Pleasure Vehicle stamped across the license plate, she laughed. The label felt absurd for a car inherited after her father’s death, worn down by time and memory. But it also felt oddly true. This car, once her father’s, had carried her through grief, across state lines, and into unexpected moments of joy. In this piece, Shaljian reflects on how a stubborn, aging vehicle became more than just transportation—it became a quiet companion through loss, transition, and the slow return of pleasure.