COFFEE + CRUMBS

COFFEE + CRUMBS

The Map

By Joy Nicholas

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Coffee + Crumbs and Joy Nicholas
Oct 24, 2025
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This essay received an honorable mention in our Circle of Trust writing contest—exclusively open to Exhale members. Learn more here.


“Have you noticed… anything… you’d like to talk about?”

The fifth-grade teacher sitting across the desk from you speaks gently, but still you’re surprised. You’ve felt lost for so long, waiting for some version of this question, for someone to say it’s not in your head and point you in the right direction. Where do you even start?

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A guest post by
Joy Nicholas
Joy Nicholas is a writer and mother to five kids. She was born in Bangladesh and has lived around the world. Now in Germany, she is working on her first book, a memoir.
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