Aizhan Yesbolatova
Aizhan Yesbolatova grew up in a nuclear-poisoned city in Kazakhstan and somehow ended up writing essays in Jersey City. Her work, written in English as her third language, explores messy family dynamics, postpartum bodies, and motherhood. When she isn’t writing, she is baking chocolate chip cookies with her 5-year-old daughter, folding laundry, or ruminating endlessly about what to make for dinner.Her work has been published in The Missouri Review, Tint Journal, and HuffPost. She is the recipient of the 2025 Iceland Writers Retreat Alumni Award.
Essays
The Yellow Suitcase
Missouri Review / May 2026
The Bitter Smell of Sagebrush
Tint Journal / March 2026
After 3 Years, I Finally Got Pregnant. My Joy Turned Into A Nightmare I Wasn't Sure I'd Survive
Huffington Post / May 2024
