I arrived in Minneapolis at 10 p.m. I live in Madison, Wisconsin these days, but I grew up here. My mom lives here. My 20-year-old son is a student at the University of Minnesota, where I was an undergraduate, as were my father and my grandfather. I have deep roots in...

The sky stretched wide and bright above the golden cottonwoods of October. Nestled in the ancient Sangre de Cristo Mountains, I felt myself as much a part of the earth as the ravens, spotted towhees, and pinyon jays, as well as the flora—juniper, piñon, and...

In Vigil, the character Jill lingers in the space after death, watching over a dying man. What were the influences that shaped the novel’s conception? A lifelong obsession with death, mortality, and accountability. I was a zealous Catholic kid when growing up in...

When we bring our mindfulness to bear on what we call “hunger,” we discover it isn’t just one thing. Hunger is made up of many different kinds of signals that arise from our senses, thoughts, and emotions. It’s a mix of experiences stemming from having a human body,...

Whether there’s intelligent life on planet Earth is, in a certain way, still an open question. This is a fraught time. People speak of the polycrises that Earth is facing: climate change with the melting of the polar ice caps and the threat of sea-level rise; the...

I have a milestone birthday approaching, and as often happens at such moments, the mind and heart turn toward reflection. Lately, I’ve been revisiting the intricate web of family and friends who support me, hold me, and—yes—sometimes challenge me. We connect with...