This month’s books newsletter has a lot to say about identities — mistaken, misunderstood, transformed, false, false, fictional, or as anonymous as the op-ed.
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Old Dudes On Skateboards
The death of his life-long skateboarding friend prompts Aaron Gilbreath to get back on his board — at 44, with his toddler daughter in tow.
‘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.
Whiteness on the Couch
Clinical psychologist Natasha Stovall looks at the vast spectrum of white people problems, and why we never talk about them in therapy.
An Inquiry Into Abuse
Allegations that Richard Nixon beat his wife, Pat Nixon, have circulated for decades without serious examination by the journalists who covered his presidency. It’s time to look more closely at what’s been hiding in plain view.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Susan Chira and Catrin Einhorn, John Branch, Amanda Mull, Mimi O’Donnell and Adam Green, and Mansi Choksi.
‘Archive, Archive, Archive’: Valeria Luiselli on Reading In Order To Write
To write “Lost Children Archive,” Valeria Luiselli studied the refugee crisis “obliquely,” reading about other historical moments of children’s mass displacement, amassing a reader’s archive of loss.
A Woman’s Work: The Outside Story
Carolita Johnson catalogues her efforts to maintain her appearance from about 1970 to 2018.
A Woman’s Work: The Outside Story
Carolita Johnson catalogues her efforts to maintain her appearance from about 1970 to 2018.
Meet the New Mormons
Is it possible to be queer, lefty, and a Latter-Day Saint? After leaving the church, Sarah Scoles sets out to understand liberal Mormons.

