Melissa Hung

Profile Photo

Melissa Hung is a writer and journalist. Her essays and reported stories have appeared in NPR, Vogue, Longreads, Pacific Standard, and Body Language (Catapult 2022). She is the founding editor of Hyphen magazine. She grew up in Texas, the eldest child of immigrants. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @melissahungtx and at melissahung.xyz.

Stories

Cover Photo: An image of someone playing the drums
Drum Head: Playing Through My Chronic Pain

But pain and pleasure intertwine in playing the drums, much as they do elsewhere in life.

Oct 06, 2022
Cover Photo: An image of a young girl swimming in a pool. She wears a light blue swim cap and googles.
Longing for the Water

Swimming has saved me over and over again. But this time it cannot.

Jun 03, 2020
Cover Photo: photograph of a pair of feet in shadow against a white/grey background
How Meditation Helped Me Feel More Comfortable in My Body

How sad that I couldn’t regard myself with more kindness before, but how necessary it felt now that I was in constant pain.

Mar 09, 2020
Cover Photo: Illustration of a woman standing in front of shelves lined with journals
The Headache Diaries

The diary was how I organized a life suddenly thrown into chaos. This is what the human mind does; it looks for a narrative, for meaning.

Feb 07, 2020
Cover Photo: art by Ellen Orseck / image via brad, flickr
To Swim Is to Endure: On Living with Chronic Pain

“If I don’t swim, the pain grows. If I’m in more pain, what will become of my life?”

Apr 17, 2017