Essays

“What I’m Thankful For” (or “Not Today, Satan”)

Every year at the family Thanksgiving dinner, we do what all the good, white-privileged families do before eating: we pray. We stand in a circle holding hands around the kitchen table. Somebody gets nominated by my father to have the honor of saying grace. Being an atheist, I try every year not to …

This Was Supposed to Be About Dying. It Turned Out to Be About Not Living.

There’s a Bonnie Raitt song I love called “Nick of Time” from her 1989 album of the same name. (My cool Aunt Cathie turned me on to that album. I must’ve been about 11 or 12. Her early influence on my musical tastes persists.) There are several simple observations and lessons …