The Tears of Denis Johnson
The writer showed his students and friends how to remain an artist, even when one becomes a kind of cult figure.
My Father’s Weakness for Beer Never Lessened His Strengths
A personal essay by Pauline Campos in which she reflects on her relationship with her functional alcoholic father, whom she believes never let his drinking interfere with being a good father.
David Brown’s Quiet Resilience
The former Dallas police chief is familiar with loss: Violence took his son, younger brother, and former partner. His response to the killing of five officers last July was inspiring. He’s not done giving back.
The Word Is ‘Nemesis’: The Fight to Integrate the National Spelling Bee
From a Hawk to a Dove
Vietnam Veteran Ray Cocks, who’d eagerly enlisted in 1967, was forever changed by the realities of war.
Snow, Death and Politics
While snowed in on the West Coast, Frances Badalamenti grapples alone with her father’s death on the other side of what feels like a dying country.
On Becoming a Woman Who Knows Too Much
Through my education I’d become a trusted source of specialized knowledge. But how could I become the kind of leader who is surrounded with people like me?
Pills and Thrills and Daffodils
Years before Prince died of an overdose, his music provided a lifeline for Eva Tenuto.
On Island: Journeying to Penal Colonies, from Rikers to Robben
On journeys to Rikers Island in New York City and Robben Island in South Africa, Roohi Choudhry examines issues of incarceration and racism, and envisions a day when the convicted are no longer exiled to penal colonies.
The Currency of Cars: How to Leave a Husband
A rickety ’98 Volvo wagon doesn’t look like much, but it provides Debbie Weingarten and her children safe passage to a new life.