Mitigation specialist Jennifer Wynn investigates the upbringings of defendants on trial — often for their lives — to humanize clients in a bid to convince at least one juror to bypass the death penalty for a life in prison without parole.
childhood
Posted inNonfiction, Story
The Man Who Put Down Clay
How do you get to know a father — or a man — who defines himself by one single, insurmountable achievement?
Posted inNonfiction
The Man Who Put Down Clay
How do you get to know a father — or a man — who defines himself by one single, insurmountable achievement?
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Heather Matarazzo on the Childhood Search for Her Biological Parents
Heather Matarazzo, who made her film breakthrough in 1995’s Welcome to the Dollhouse and has appeared on shows including Grey’s Anatomy, is now blogging about her life and her experiences in Hollywood. Her latest piece is a deeply personal one, about the curiosity and fear that came with secretly searching for her biological parents: I’m […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
How an ‘American Girl’ Character Is Born
The company is meticulous when it comes to product development, particularly for the BeForever line. “It takes about three years to launch a new character because you do a lot of research,” explains Opland. The BeForever books tackle a range of difficult issues—Addy Walker is an escaped slave, Samantha speaks out against child labor—and so American […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes, Unapologetic Women
How Judy Blume Will Save You: An Aunt’s Letter to Her 5-Year-Old Niece
Dear Raisin, I don’t have much advice for you. I likely never will. When you get older, you’ll know better than to ask me: Your mom is smarter, kinder, and taller than I am. In most cases, she’ll know better than anyone else. One thing I can tell you is that, regardless of how close […]
Posted inBooks, Nonfiction, Story
Fairyland: Memories of a Singular San Francisco Girlhood
Alysia Abbott recalls being raised by her poet father—a single, openly gay man—in the San Francisco of the nineteen-seventies and eighties.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
David Rakoff on the Downsides of Childhood
I had a beautiful childhood and a lovely childhood. I just didn’t like being a child. I didn’t like the rank injustice of not being listened to. I didn’t like the lack of autonomy. I didn’t like my chubby little hands that couldn’t manipulate the world of objects in the way that I wanted them […]
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
The Wisdom of Mr. Rogers
Fred McFeely Rogers taught us about ourselves and fought for PBS.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List
The Wisdom of Mr. Rogers
Fred McFeely Rogers taught us about ourselves and fought for PBS.