Saving Point Reyes
Every book has its own unique point of origin, that Big Bang moment when it first miraculously springs from nothingness into its author’s mind. You just never know when it’s go
A Month in Italy (Note by Note)
Karen and I try to take a substantial trip every year these days, the occasional global pandemic aside. Travel is a privilege that we’ve made a priority for the past decade (
Every Chapter is a Song
Stories with music woven into their fabric have carried many different labels over the years; my personal favorite is “musical fiction.” Still, it can be a struggle to describe
The Great Battle
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.” This quote, often attributed to Philo of Alexandria, serves as the epigraph fronting my novel Never Break the Chain
Reunited States
Two years of isolation, disconnection, and toxic political divisiveness are enough to make anyone feel alienated—and enough to make the prospect of something as simple as a high
The Comet and the Colt
We all need that one mentor, that one transformative figure in our lives who believes in us more than we have yet learned to believe in ourselves, who both pushes and pulls us clos
What Matters Most
The Korean-language edition of my mother’s 1960 debut The Thinking Book was what finally did me in. I sat on the floor with various foreign versions of her books heaped all a
Bonus Time
Tirah the tabby, the last cat standing from the trio we enjoyed for 15 years, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in August 2020. At the time, the doctors gave her six to 12 months.
‘The Remembering’ is Here
The Remembering: Reflections on Love, Art, Faith, Heroes, Grief and Baseball—on sale now—grew out of a conversation that began right here. So the first thing to say again today
The Book I Was Meant to Write
“This isn’t the book I meant to write… but apparently it’s the book I was meant to write.” That was the one fresh line I had solidly in mind when I sat down over the summ