On Losing a Daughter
The people we were died at the exact moment our child did.
Family
The Most Tortured Relationship in America
Monogamy is one of the last bipartisan ideals—even if people struggle to live up to it.
In Praise of ‘Difficult’ Kids
Feisty children can be exhausting. They also possess a moral fire that deserves cultivating.
The Endless Goodbye
More than a decade before my dad died, I lost him to dementia.
The Best Way to Handle Your Decline Is to Confront It Head On
Much like contemplating death can neutralize the fear of it, it can help to acclimate yourself to the idea of losing professional skills before it happens.
Now I Understand Why My Parents Were So Strict
Growing up, I thought they were unreasonable. Now I see that their rules were an appropriate reaction to the threats that face black people in the U.S.
I Didn’t Have Any Graduation Wisdom. So I Asked 19 Smart People Instead.
What a novelist, a therapist, a Buddhist teacher, and others have to say to the class of 2020
Dear Therapist: My Daughter Doesn’t Care That I Want Her to Live Closer to Home
I don’t think she truly understands the impact that seeing her only once or twice a year is having on us.
The New Relationships That Fizzled Out in Quarantine
The pandemic made every non-cohabiting couple a long-distance one—and effectively stopped a whole legion of blossoming romances in their tracks.
What a Liberal and a Conservative Learned From Their Friendship
“I think it’s important that you remember who your friend is, that they are not just a set of political policies.”
I Miss My Grandchildren
The pandemic isn’t clarifying what’s important; it’s ripping it away.
What Isolation Does to Undocumented Immigrants
The pandemic has thrown into sharp relief the lonely, confined lives many immigrants in the United States were already living.
Dear Therapist: My Father and Grandmother Haven’t Spoken in 30 Years
I’d like to meet her before she dies, but I’m worried he would see my fraternizing with her as a betrayal.
The Many Faces of the ‘Wine Mom’
Some see her as a symptom of a problem with modern parenting; others just see her as a good time.