Personal Essay
A Chess Cheating Scandal, Emma Stone, and My Next Book
It began, as it usually did, as an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. Not painful, really, but vaguely unpleasant—as though something was […]
Why Do I Keep Yelling at My Kids? A Father Tries Not to.
I didn’t grow up with a lot of yelling. Any decent therapist would hear that and say, “We have to stop now. Enjoy your remaining […]
When Did It Become So Hard to Make Friends?
I was on the T headed to one of my favorite restaurants in Boston when I found myself thinking about the last time I ate […]
The Gilded Identity Crisis of Boston’s Favorite Winter Escape
The Palm Beach Daily News is called the “Shiny Sheet” by locals because of the thick, glossy paper it is printed on. It has all […]
How to Plan a Wedding and (Mostly) Ignore #Bridetok
The first thing I see when I open TikTok is an influencer speaking directly to the camera: Five trends you have to include at your […]
The Beer-League Ski Race That Became My Unlikely Salvation
We were in the bland hinterlands of Greater Boston, skiing along the ho-hum Leo J. Martin Golf Course—otherwise known as the worst golf course in […]
My Sister Died Before I Could Understand Her. Now I Finally Do.
In the car heading west to Aunt Dot’s funeral in Chicago with my sister, Nancy, I’ve been raging—or not raging, exactly, but going on at […]
I’m a Rapper Who Starred in “The Town.” Then Addiction Nearly Killed Me.
Coming to at 3 a.m. after blacking out halfway through snorting a line is an unpleasant cardiac experience, to say the least. And it was […]
My Father Got a Green Card for Free. I Came to America and Got Stuck.
Two suitcases, $400 in traveler’s checks, and a two-year plan. That’s what I arrived at Logan Airport with in 1999, leaving behind my family and […]
Maybe Just Help People?
If you want to really understand life as an adult, a life in full, consider service of some kind: the Peace Corps, the military, City […]
Confessions of a Former No-Earbuds-at-the-Gym Guy
I’ve been going to the gym for decades. I have to because, and I don’t say this much since it sounds like bragging, I have […]
Confessions of an Accidental Stay-at-Home Dad
“What happened?” The front-desk attendant at urgent care was curious. “I cut it by accident,” I said, holding up my pinky, wrapped in a bloody […]
A Grilled Cheese Mystery: My Search for a Simple Sandwich
I can’t deny that I’ve got major skills, all of which have zero marketability. I can identify a Springsteen song two seconds in. I can […]
My Dad’s Last Day in Court
The earliest signs of my father’s cognitive slip dovetailed with his retirement. He’d somehow managed to keep it together for his clients until his very […]
Why I’m Quitting Dating Apps (for Now)
How was your date?” a close friend asked me as soon as I walked into her house one day this fall. Like me, she is […]