PARIS — There was enough news (real and fake) to keep our heads spinning for all of 2016. Yet one project we are particularly proud about this past year is our new Rue Amelot ongoing series of essays. These pieces may or may not take news as a leaping-off point, but ultimately wind up somewhere else, looking a bit closer to home, a bit further inside the personal experiences of the writers sharing their stories. Here are a few of our favorite pieces:

Soil And Blood: National Identity Is More Than My Passport

Cynthia Martens, Feb. 18

Rock, Rebellion And My Misguided Shame Of Brazilian Culture

Fred Di Giacomo, Feb. 25

Syrian Lessons Close To Home, From Paris To Tennessee

Liz Garrigan, March 18

Trump And Torture, Reflections Of A Good Soldier

Robert Christy, March 31

The Limits Of Modern Privacy, Lessons From Mongolia

Martin de Bourmont, May 5

Domestic Work, That Insidious Worldwide Bastion Of Sexism

Moira Molly Chambers, May 12

Couchsurfing (And Keeping Secrets) In Palestine — Part 1

Alex Correa, July 1

France, The Myths Of Human Freedom And Terror

Jeff Israely, July 21

Silent Delivery, How My Stillborn Twins Made Me A Better Mother

Einat Nathan, Oct. 5