Writing to “My Dear Mary”—her niece and my mother—in 1954, Rose Caperton explained that the three leather-bound books she was sending had belonged to Mary’s great-great-great grandmother.
Blog Posts about My Family
The Death of Pip
Pip, my shelter dog pitbull mix, died peacefully on Saturday after nine years of a beautiful life, hiking, enjoying the dog park, going with me on all kinds of adventures.
Jacob Street
Jacob Street when I was growing up in the prosperous white suburbs had only one meaning: that was the address of Lizzie Baker’s house.
Three Ideas: A Biography and Two Histories
It will soon be time for me to start another three or four year writing project. I’d love to hear which of these three ideas you find most appealing…
The Happy Family
My generation was known for our disruptions, the massive number of divorces and desertions that the rapid changes of the 1960’s and 1970’s ushered in… Fortunately, that bitterness seems by now to be at least partly assuaged.
The Lost Cause
As I begin reading the collection of nineteenth-century Stiles letters that may provide the core of my next book, I’m brought reluctantly to remember two long ago incidents when loneliness pushed me closer to belief.
Christmas Comes but Once a Year…
I have such blissful memories of the Christmases of my childhood, first and foremost the firm insistence on going to church Christmas morning.
Azim’s Bardo
In the tumble of donated books in the Little Free Library, I saw one with a title that spoke to me: From Murder to Forgiveness: A Father’s Journey by Azim Khamisa with Carl Goldman.
Multispecies Entanglement
I’m witnessing a surge in big, old-fashioned weddings for those who can afford up to half a million dollars to rent tents, clubs, hire staff, and buy the necessary clothes.
I’m Thankful For….
As our first snow fell here in the southern Rockies, my granddaughter asked me why I moved to Santa Fe 35 years ago.