Nic and his father David Sheff’s memoirs about grappling with Nic’s addiction are the basis for the new movie ‘Beautiful Boy.’ It was important to them that the movie communicate what addiction really is — an illness.
Profiles & Interviews
Sarah Perry on ‘Melmoth,’ Monsters, and Making Her Readers Feel Responsible for Mass Atrocity
“It was important to me that the ‘villains’ in the book were ordinary people, because readers are ordinary people, and people who do terrible things are often ordinary people.”
‘I’ve Always Been Either Praised or Accused of Ambition’: An Interview with Barbara Kingsolver
Barbara Kingsolver takes a rigorous, scientific approach to her novels’ subjects — but, as a woman writer, her authority is often challenged.
‘As a Grown Woman, I Still Have To Continuously Learn To Say No’
Memoirist Tanya Marquardt talks about consent, trauma, and investigating our memories in the age of #MeToo.
An Inclusive Guide to Lingerie and a New Take on Self-Care
Cora Harrington’s first book, In Intimate Detail, is an accessible, inclusive guide to undergarments.
Women Are Really, Really Mad Right Now
Rebecca Traister talks about the revolutionary power of women’s anger.
‘I Didn’t Have the Language to Call It Racism’: An Interview with Nicole Chung
Nicole Chung wants white parents of transracial adoptees to grapple more candidly with the reality of racism in America.
Falling in Love with Chicago at Night: An Interview with Jessica Hopper
In “Night Moves,” Jessica Hopper is 80% on her bike and 20% at a show, memorializing a young adulthood spent in just one of “a million Chicagos” — but one that shaped a wide network of artists and writers.
‘The Very Top Guy in the Stasi was Personally Involved in Figuring Out How to Destroy Punk.’
Author Tim Mohr talks about East Germany’s dissident punk rock scene, and its role in bringing down the Berlin Wall in 1989 — the story behind his remarkable new book, ‘Burning Down The Haus.’
Eli Saslow on the Slow-Motion Toppling of Derek Black’s White Supremacism
Eli Saslow says the push and pull of resistance (from angry classmates) and civil discourse (with others willing to be kind to him) is what changed Derek Black.
