It’s too cold to go outside and you’re facing a ton of family time, which means you’re about to go through that Netflix queue real quick. If you’re looking for other ways to spend your holiday vacation, might we recommended digging into some of ELLE’s best long reads of the year? Below, a roundup of some of our favorite features from 2019.
The Model and the Murder
When a body is found in the Las Vegas desert, a complex story unravels around the victim.
The Education of Natalie Jean
For years, Mormon Mommy blogger Natalie Lovin curated a picture-perfect life. Then she left the church—and her husband.
America Unraveling: How Women Are Surviving the Opioid Crisis
The opioid epidemic has come for you. Maybe not you, specifically, but also probably, yes, you. Each day, more than 130 lives will be lost to an opioid overdose. A year after the crisis was declared a public health emergency, it was reported that Americans are more likely to die from an opioid overdose than from a car crash. Women, who are most often the center of our care networks, have been affected in profound and myriad ways. They’ve buried children or taken in those of family members unfit to care for them. They’ve been overprescribed for pain management and underserved when the addiction set in. Over the course of the next eight weeks, we’ll be sharing their stories.
The Identity Thief Who Stalked Me for Decades Was My Own Mother
Axton Betz-Hamilton never suspected the person she trusted most would ruin her life.
Two Sisters and The Terrorist Who Came Between Them
Samantha Sally says she was forced to live under ISIS by her abusive husband. Is she a terrorist or a victim?
Part II: Two Sisters and the Terrorist Who Came Between Them
Lori Sally’s sister Sam moved to Syria to live under ISIS. Can she ever forgive her?
Can Jesus Close the Wage Gap? Inside Hillsong’s Instagram-Fueled Women’s Movement
Hillsong megachurch explores how to be a good Christian woman and an empowered one.
Can Pia Arrobio Just Live?
In the era of the one-woman brand, the LPA designer wears a lot of hats—including crisis PR.
Deciem’s Nicola Kilner Has Been in Charge All Along
After the untimely death of Deciem’s volatile founder Brandon Truaxe, Nicola Kilner hits reset on the cult beauty brand.
The Audacity of Hope Solo
The controversial athlete has become a vocal advocate for equal pay in women’s soccer. Why does everyone want her to shut up?
Erica Chidi Cohen Wants to Solve the Millennial Sex Drought
Erica Chidi Cohen teaches a new generation of women how to know and love (and use!) their bodies well.
Hollywood Knows Who Cassandra Grey Is. Do You?
The magnetic founder of Violet Grey talks grief, paring down, and girlfriend Samantha Ronson.
The Rise of the Mom-Shaming Resistance
Almost every mother is shamed for her choices. What does it look like when women start fighting back?
The Playboy Model Vs. The Instagram Vigilante
An Instagram account reveals when celebrities alter their appearances—and when we stop being okay with it.
Slippery When Wet
Angelika Graswald, also known as the Kayak Killer, went to jail for letting her fiancé drown in the Hudson River. Now she’s out on parole and looking to clear her name.