Being the Light I Wish to See

Undergrad fiction writers master the art of the speed-read.

Making new friends the awkward way.

How my students showed me the flip side of an Aesop's fable.

Reflecting on life’s randomness after a dire diagnosis.

My on-campus housing was free and the envy of my friends. Then the weather changed.

A successful author takes a second shot at the GRE, 40 years after the first.

After my name, it’s probably the most special thing about me—and it’s used as a slur in Europe.

Leland Stanford and I have one thing in common: railroad troubles.

I wish my husband could see how people remember him.

These days, when I look at my home, I see the nightmare that could be.