Below, our favorite stories of the week. Kindle users, you can also get them as a Readlist.

Sign up to receive this list free every Friday in your inbox.

* * *

1. The Abortion Ministry of Dr. Willie Parker

John H. Richardson | Esquire | July 30, 2014 | 33 minutes (8,280 words) words)

A profile of Dr. Willie Parker, who tends to the needs of women at the one abortion clinic open in Mississippi. Last week a federal appeals panel voted to block a Mississippi law that would have shut down the clinic.

2. Little Man and the Pursuit of Happiness

Jessica Lipscomb | Naples Daily News | Aug. 2, 2014 | 44 minutes (11,069 words)

A terminally ill boy’s bucket list, and the mother who provided him with “quality, not quantity” during his final days.

3. The Hargrave Four

Chad Nielsen | SB Nation | July 29, 2014 | 35 minutes (8,844 words)

They were the most talented line in amateur football history. They were all destined for NFL stardom. Then everything fell apart.

4. A Raised Voice

Claudia Roth Pierpont | The New Yorker | Aug. 6, 2014 | 25 minutes (6,367 words)

The story of Nina Simone—her career and her involvement with the civil rights movement—and the furor over a forthcoming movie biopic.

5. ‘The Wonder Years’: An Oral History

Bonnie Stiernberg | Paste Magazine | Aug. 5, 2014 | 31 minutes (7,629 words)

“Because you don’t really realize how magical it is until it’s gone, until you’re old enough to appreciate it. So a lot of the wisdom that the narrator looked back with didn’t resonate with me just because I was kind of living those years as opposed to looking back at them and marveling at them.” The cast of The Wonder Years talk about how the show came together.

Photo: Maisie Crow/Esquire