“Ever since I was five years old,” wrote opera singer–turned–Buddhist lama Alexandra David-Néel, “I craved to go beyond the garden gate, to follow the road that passed it by, and to set out for the Unknown.”
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The World of Nora Ephron: A Reading List
Seven stories about the journalist and director, on the 20th anniversary of the release of the film, “You’ve Got Mail.”
The Lasting Effects of the Lolita Complex
Lacy Warner examines the downward turn of actress Dominique Swain’s career, and how the trouble began the moment she grew up.
Shelved: Brian Wilson’s Adult/Child
Music from the time after the good vibrations ended.
Our Contemporary Notion of Self-Esteem Was Born — Surprise! — in 1980s California
Apparently, feeling great about yourself does not improve your chances at success.
‘The Survivor’s Edit’: Bassey Ikpi on Memory, Truth, and Living with Bipolar II
Bassey Ikpi discusses writing about mental illness. “I could count on the morning. It became the thing that existed without my input… without determining whether or not I was worthy of it.”
Oregon’s Racist Past
Starting in the mid-19th century, and extending through the mid-20th century, Oregon was arguably the most racist place outside the southern states, possibly even of all the states.
Eight Things You Need to Know About Me and the Beach
A white woman came up to my mother, leaned in close and said, “We whites have to stick together against the Asian invasion.” My mother was ecstatic. “She liked me! They like me here!”
In California, Finding ‘Fat City’ With the Man Who Wrote It
In 1969, an author from Stockton, California published one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. He rarely talked publicly about it or why he never published another book. One poet spent the weekend strolling with the author through the old hotels and boxing rings of this inland port city, talking books, his inspiration and […]
Raising a Teenage Daughter
For The California Sunday‘s “Teens Issue,” Elizabeth Weil writes about raising a teenage daughter. The piece is annotated by her 15-year-old daughter, Hannah W. Duane.
