I submitted two articles tonight, and moments after I hit send, I was struck by the parallel. Sure, they both involved retired Catholics. But in my focus on the specifics of their work — the intricate toothpick sculptures of a Minnesota grandpa, the winsome travel guide written by a New Mexico single — I’d nearly missed how their paths mirrored each other. ... More
I submitted two articles tonight, and moments after I hit send, I was struck by the parallel. Sure, they both involved retired Catholics. But in my focus on the specifics of their work — the intricate toothpick sculptures of a Minnesota grandpa, the winsome travel guide written by a New Mexico single — I’d nearly missed how their paths mirrored each other.
Every house, in its own way, is a living thing. It changes as we change. It expands with joy and contracts under duress. ... More
Every house, in its own way, is a living thing. It changes as we change. It expands with joy and contracts under duress.
The sense of place and pull to the wild that inspired Nick Ripatrozone’s new book is tucked in his very name. The rip-roaring surname is the name of a mountain town in central Italy, which the 40-year-old writer has visited. ... More
The sense of place and pull to the wild that inspired Nick Ripatrozone’s new book is tucked in his very name. The rip-roaring surname is the name of a mountain town in central Italy, which the 40-year-old writer has visited.
There are echoes of Romeo and Juliet, but the ending is happier. This story of forbidden love took place long ago on a Mediterranean island — 1870s Sicily, to be exact. ... More
There are echoes of Romeo and Juliet, but the ending is happier. This story of forbidden love took place long ago on a Mediterranean island — 1870s Sicily, to be exact.
As Dr. Seuss’ canon of children’s books is being re-evaluated, I took a closer look at one that will remain in publication, “Horton Hatches The Egg.” Published in 1940, this was Dr. Seuss’ fourth book, and it was met with critical acclaim. The book features an elephant whose large ears and long trunk provided the ideal infrastructure for the artist’s distinct lumps and humps. ... More
As Dr. Seuss’ canon of children’s books is being re-evaluated, I took a closer look at one that will remain in publication, “Horton Hatches The Egg.” Published in 1940, this was Dr. Seuss’ fourth book, and it was met with critical acclaim. The book features an elephant whose large ears and long trunk provided the ideal infrastructure for the artist’s distinct lumps and humps.
I’ve never had to write an obituary. I realize how fortunate that makes me. As a professional writer, I’ve imagined what it would be like to write one. Perhaps that’s morbid, but it’s a curiosity of mine. ... More
I’ve never had to write an obituary. I realize how fortunate that makes me. As a professional writer, I’ve imagined what it would be like to write one. Perhaps that’s morbid, but it’s a curiosity of mine.
When Violet Jessop set out to be a maritime stewardess, she wasn’t driven by some starry-eyed desire to see the world. She was moved by necessity. ... More
When Violet Jessop set out to be a maritime stewardess, she wasn’t driven by some starry-eyed desire to see the world. She was moved by necessity.
“Synchronicity.” That’s the word one journalist used in a Nov. 3 Instagram post to describe the fact that Election Day fell on the feast day of St. Martin de Porres, the patron saint of social justice. It was a timely reminder, he felt, to vote with those ideals in mind, to imagine the kind of world the 17th-century Dominican lay brother was trying to bring about. ... More
“Synchronicity.” That’s the word one journalist used in a Nov. 3 Instagram post to describe the fact that Election Day fell on the feast day of St. Martin de Porres, the patron saint of social justice. It was a timely reminder, he felt, to vote with those ideals in mind, to imagine the kind of world the 17th-century Dominican lay brother was trying to bring about.
“Can you come in?” My grandma’s favorite question is one we now discourage her from uttering.... More
“Can you come in?”
My grandma’s favorite question is one we now discourage her from uttering.
Paula Kraus wasn’t afraid to utter the wish burning on her heart, the one that seizes so many preparing to lose a loved one.... More
Paula Kraus wasn’t afraid to utter the wish burning on her heart, the one that seizes so many preparing to lose a loved one.
The snow has begun. It is expected to last 18 hours, piling nine inches high and crippling weekend plans. The streets are emptying, the collective dash to the grocery store completed. But here in our cul-de-sac, the party is about to begin. ... More
The snow has begun. It is expected to last 18 hours, piling nine inches high and crippling weekend plans. The streets are emptying, the collective dash to the grocery store completed.
But here in our cul-de-sac, the party is about to begin.
The story of my journalism career is here in the stories of strangers. It’s what I made of their accounts, what happened between the handwritten interview notes and the published newspaper articles.... More
The story of my journalism career is here in the stories of strangers. It’s what I made of their accounts, what happened between the handwritten interview notes and the published newspaper articles.
The sweetness of Rudolph’s redemption is spooned out so liberally it reveals May’s lingering boyhood wounds. ... More
The sweetness of Rudolph’s redemption is spooned out so liberally it reveals May’s lingering boyhood wounds.
I was a sophomore in college when I received the little blue book, a gift from a friend who also wanted to be a writer. At the time I was editing the student newspaper, poring over buried leads and dangling modifiers. ... More
I was a sophomore in college when I received the little blue book, a gift from a friend who also wanted to be a writer. At the time I was editing the student newspaper, poring over buried leads and dangling modifiers.
Theodor Jr. could envision the future. A secure, prosperous one. A business he could hand down to his 15-year-old son. A proud legacy. ... More
Theodor Jr. could envision the future. A secure, prosperous one. A business he could hand down to his 15-year-old son. A proud legacy.
I wonder if we’re growing too defensive. When we clap back so fiercely, do we take the time to consider the criticism? Are we cooling down enough to find the teaching moment in the hot exchange? Or are we digging our heels in and sticking our fingers in our ears?... More
I wonder if we’re growing too defensive. When we clap back so fiercely, do we take the time to consider the criticism? Are we cooling down enough to find the teaching moment in the hot exchange? Or are we digging our heels in and sticking our fingers in our ears?
I’ve always appreciated the notion of self-care in an Oprah Winfrey, hot-baths-and-expensive-chocolates kind of way. ... More
I’ve always appreciated the notion of self-care in an Oprah Winfrey, hot-baths-and-expensive-chocolates kind of way.
My aunt Jan has always known she was adopted, and the many mysteries surrounding that reality had never haunted her. She raised her daughters near St. Paul, Minn., her husband’s hometown, and cherished her Catholic faith. Now 56, she is an empty nester who volunteers often and paints religious icons.... More
My aunt Jan has always known she was adopted, and the many mysteries surrounding that reality had never haunted her. She raised her daughters near St. Paul, Minn., her husband’s hometown, and cherished her Catholic faith. Now 56, she is an empty nester who volunteers often and paints religious icons.
The Lopers finalized their adoption at a Sept. 5 court hearing and embarked on a protracted flight home. On the morning of Sept. 11, they were on their last leg, hours from Texas, when the pilot re-routed them to a town they had never heard of: Gander, Newfoundland. They were told something vague about the U.S. airspace being closed.... More
The Lopers finalized their adoption at a Sept. 5 court hearing and embarked on a protracted flight home. On the morning of Sept. 11, they were on their last leg, hours from Texas, when the pilot re-routed them to a town they had never heard of: Gander, Newfoundland. They were told something vague about the U.S. airspace being closed.
I’ve been emailing my friend Becky, a newspaper editor in South Dakota, about our growing desire to unplug. ... More
I’ve been emailing my friend Becky, a newspaper editor in South Dakota, about our growing desire to unplug.
Janet Easter is experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions as she arranges a bouquet in her backyard, and she is unfazed. ... More
Janet Easter is experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions as she arranges a bouquet in her backyard, and she is unfazed.
The numbers don’t look good for the U.S. Postal Service. ... More
The numbers don’t look good for the U.S. Postal Service.
The big news from the Social Security Administration is the ousting of a champion: Liam has dethroned Noah as the nation’s most popular boy name. ... More
The big news from the Social Security Administration is the ousting of a champion: Liam has dethroned Noah as the nation’s most popular boy name.
When Oprah Winfrey was first asked the question, the talk-show queen was left tongue-tied. ... More
When Oprah Winfrey was first asked the question, the talk-show queen was left tongue-tied.
Erica Tighe was 26 when she made the leap. She would set out on her own to be a calligrapher — full time — in order to pay her $800 rent and cellphone bill and $1,000 college-loan payment and also hopefully afford some food. ... More
Erica Tighe was 26 when she made the leap. She would set out on her own to be a calligrapher — full time — in order to pay her $800 rent and cellphone bill and $1,000 college-loan payment and also hopefully afford some food.
Little did he know what a noble purpose awaited him when Don Ritchie settled into a house on Old South Head Road back in 1964.... More
When it came time to interview prospective sailors for his expedition across Antarctica, Ernest Shackleton had clear-cut criteria. He had to pick the right men for his journey to the bottom of the world, a news-making attempt to be the first to cross the continent via the coldest place on Earth: the South Pole. ... More
When it came time to interview prospective sailors for his expedition across Antarctica, Ernest Shackleton had clear-cut criteria. He had to pick the right men for his journey to the bottom of the world, a news-making attempt to be the first to cross the continent via the coldest place on Earth: the South Pole.
If you want Advent to remake your heart — to stretch it out like pizza dough and squish it back into something soft and supple — you must make the time for real giving, for glitter and glue and hours and minutes. ... More
If you want Advent to remake your heart — to stretch it out like pizza dough and squish it back into something soft and supple — you must make the time for real giving, for glitter and glue and hours and minutes.
Even before she was married, Emily Stimpson Chapman asked for baby prayers.... More
Even before she was married, Emily Stimpson Chapman asked for baby prayers.
Hurricane Harvey stranded Father David Bergeron in his pick-up truck the night it ripped through Houston. The 38-year-old priest had been visiting his brother and had to pull over on an overpass three miles from his home in the flood-ravaged southeast side.... More
Hurricane Harvey stranded Father David Bergeron in his pick-up truck the night it ripped through Houston. The 38-year-old priest had been visiting his brother and had to pull over on an overpass three miles from his home in the flood-ravaged southeast side.
The rain fell heavy Monday morning in Des Moines, Iowa.... More
The rain fell heavy Monday morning in Des Moines, Iowa.
Nicholas Owen was canonized 364 years after his death. Such is often the case with the Catholic Church, charged with curating a 3,000-year treasure trove of saints and stories, rovers and relics.... More
Nicholas Owen was canonized 364 years after his death. Such is often the case with the Catholic Church, charged with curating a 3,000-year treasure trove of saints and stories, rovers and relics.
David McCullough’s bestselling new book, The American Spirit, takes up a cause he has long championed, lends it added urgency and aims it squarely at young adults. “We are raising a generation of young Americans who are by and large historically illiterate,” McCullough writes.... More
David McCullough’s bestselling new book, The American Spirit, takes up a cause he has long championed, lends it added urgency and aims it squarely at young adults. “We are raising a generation of young Americans who are by and large historically illiterate,” McCullough writes.
Rachel Gardner has a bad habit: She says yes when she ought to say no. A friend will ask to do lunch on Wednesday.... More
Rachel Gardner has a bad habit: She says yes when she ought to say no. A friend will ask to do lunch on Wednesday.
Art Cullen’s series of Pulitzer-winning editorials took on powerful agricultural groups for allowing nitrogen runoff to pollute Iowa rivers. ... More
Art Cullen’s series of Pulitzer-winning editorials took on powerful agricultural groups for allowing nitrogen runoff to pollute Iowa rivers.
The place where infants nod off and teens open up is also where road-weary adults will probe their spirituality: in the car. ... More
The place where infants nod off and teens open up is also where road-weary adults will probe their spirituality: in the car.
The old farmers used to say you should leave a field better than you found it. Sometimes that called for heavy lifting. Other times it just meant picking up a rock as you crossed and placing it at the field’s edge. ... More
The old farmers used to say you should leave a field better than you found it. Sometimes that called for heavy lifting. Other times it just meant picking up a rock as you crossed and placing it at the field’s edge.
Spend a day in a surgery waiting room and you’ll witness a hundred quiet acts of mercy. ... More
Spend a day in a surgery waiting room and you’ll witness a hundred quiet acts of mercy.
Adversity begets longevity. ... More
Adversity begets longevity.
The box went up on a Monday evening in August, a plain white box nestled inside a little wooden tent, mounted atop a fence and beneath the outermost reach of a maple tree. ... More
The box went up on a Monday evening in August, a plain white box nestled inside a little wooden tent, mounted atop a fence and beneath the outermost reach of a maple tree.
Keanu Krech didn’t know what to expect when he set up a prayer box — a twist on a Little Free Library — outside his home. ... More
Keanu Krech didn’t know what to expect when he set up a prayer box — a twist on a Little Free Library — outside his home.
It’s almost as if November’s Mass readings were written for election-weary Catholics, with their foreboding tones and calls for “perseverance” and “endurance” amid distress.... More
It’s almost as if November’s Mass readings were written for election-weary Catholics, with their foreboding tones and calls for “perseverance” and “endurance” amid distress.
... More
It was a rough July, on a national scale, marked by division: shootings, protests, funerals, conventions. ... More
It was a rough July, on a national scale, marked by division: shootings, protests, funerals, conventions.
I've been listening to Lillian Cunningham's "Presidential" podcast, trying to glean insights into our nation's earliest leaders. In a month that is sure to contain fireworks - from the 4th of July to the Republican and Democratic conventions - it feels quieting and introspective to cast my mind back to our first presidents. ... More
I've been listening to Lillian Cunningham's "Presidential" podcast, trying to glean insights into our nation's earliest leaders. In a month that is sure to contain fireworks - from the 4th of July to the Republican and Democratic conventions - it feels quieting and introspective to cast my mind back to our first presidents.
Staci Perry bakes like she lives. She doesn't measure. She works with what's already in the fridge. And she scrapes every last bit out of the bowl. ... More
Staci Perry bakes like she lives. She doesn't measure. She works with what's already in the fridge. And she scrapes every last bit out of the bowl.
It had been a long Thursday, and Brooke Paris couldn't wait to take off her heels, peel off her contacts and wipe off her make-up. She changed into her pajamas, climbed into bed and opened her MacBook to the pope's new apostolic exhortation. ... More
It had been a long Thursday, and Brooke Paris couldn't wait to take off her heels, peel off her contacts and wipe off her make-up. She changed into her pajamas, climbed into bed and opened her MacBook to the pope's new apostolic exhortation.
Father Thomas Byles was 42 when he boarded the Titanic with his second-class ticket and portable altar stone. He had made arrangements with Captain Edward Smith to secure space on the ocean liner to celebrate Mass. Even on vacation a priest is never off duty, he knew, but the Catholic convert would have it no other way. ... More
Father Thomas Byles was 42 when he boarded the Titanic with his second-class ticket and portable altar stone. He had made arrangements with Captain Edward Smith to secure space on the ocean liner to celebrate Mass. Even on vacation a priest is never off duty, he knew, but the Catholic convert would have it no other way.
Dolores Hart was 19 when she filmed her first movie scene: kissing Elvis Presley. ... More
Dolores Hart was 19 when she filmed her first movie scene: kissing Elvis Presley.
Melina Birchem has uploaded 777 images to her Instagram account over the past two years: sushi, Starbucks, her new tattoo, rosary beads, cowboy boots. Sometimes the juxtaposition is jarring. A glowing monstrance, a chilled margarita. A snapshot from waitressing, a prayer journal documenting her consecration to the Blessed Mother. ... More
Melina Birchem has uploaded 777 images to her Instagram account over the past two years: sushi, Starbucks, her new tattoo, rosary beads, cowboy boots. Sometimes the juxtaposition is jarring. A glowing monstrance, a chilled margarita. A snapshot from waitressing, a prayer journal documenting her consecration to the Blessed Mother.
Oprah Winfrey has joined Weight Watchers, which means she is not only a card-carrying, point-counting member of the weight-loss club, she is also a part owner. That's how you do it when you're Oprah: You go big or you don't bother. ... More
Oprah Winfrey has joined Weight Watchers, which means she is not only a card-carrying, point-counting member of the weight-loss club, she is also a part owner. That's how you do it when you're Oprah: You go big or you don't bother.
The wedding that Tyler Schwandt and his fiancee are planning could've been broadcast on national TV. But he's perfectly content with a quieter, more intimate wedding Mass. ... More
The wedding that Tyler Schwandt and his fiancee are planning could've been broadcast on national TV. But he's perfectly content with a quieter, more intimate wedding Mass.
It is the book that somehow surfaces when you need it most - manna for the multi-tasker, solace for the stressed. It is the book you stock up on to give to others, to slip in Christmas stockings, to pay it forward. It is the book that spiritual directors recommend again and again: Father Jacques Philippe's tiny paperback with the nondescript cover, the one that delivers everything its title promises: Searching for and Maintaining Peace: A Small Treatise on Peace of Heart. ... More
It is the book that somehow surfaces when you need it most - manna for the multi-tasker, solace for the stressed. It is the book you stock up on to give to others, to slip in Christmas stockings, to pay it forward. It is the book that spiritual directors recommend again and again: Father Jacques Philippe's tiny paperback with the nondescript cover, the one that delivers everything its title promises: Searching for and Maintaining Peace: A Small Treatise on Peace of Heart.
I'm reading a book that speaks to me as a journalist, Brian Grazer's 2015 release A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. In it, the 64-year-old Emmy-winning movie producer recounts his practice of conducting "curiosity conversations" twice a month for the past three decades to fill up his knowledge reserve and walk in someone else's head. ... More
I'm reading a book that speaks to me as a journalist, Brian Grazer's 2015 release A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. In it, the 64-year-old Emmy-winning movie producer recounts his practice of conducting "curiosity conversations" twice a month for the past three decades to fill up his knowledge reserve and walk in someone else's head.
Arleen Spenceley can't remember the last time she went on a date. It must've been 2014, she says without a trace of panic. ... More
Arleen Spenceley can't remember the last time she went on a date. It must've been 2014, she says without a trace of panic.
"The only essential equipment for seeing birds is a pair of eyes. Good ears are a help, too." ... More
"The only essential equipment for seeing birds is a pair of eyes. Good ears are a help, too."
On Sunday night the email landed in Mike Foss' inbox: He had been named to Forbes' "30 Under 30," the business magazine's annual list of rising stars younger than 30. ... More
On Sunday night the email landed in Mike Foss' inbox: He had been named to Forbes' "30 Under 30," the business magazine's annual list of rising stars younger than 30.
Carly Poppalardo had blisters on her feet after she drove home from an eight-hour session of professional organizing, threw a bag of Trader Joe's pre-cut veggies and simmer sauce on the stove, flipped on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" and sank into the couch. ... More
Carly Poppalardo had blisters on her feet after she drove home from an eight-hour session of professional organizing, threw a bag of Trader Joe's pre-cut veggies and simmer sauce on the stove, flipped on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" and sank into the couch.
Belinda Monahan has analyzed more than 100,000 animal bones in Armenia dating back from the Early Bronze Age (1200 BC) to the Medieval period. ... More
Belinda Monahan has analyzed more than 100,000 animal bones in Armenia dating back from the Early Bronze Age (1200 BC) to the Medieval period.
Irena Sendler was 29 years old when Nazi tanks slithered into Warsaw, casting a shadow of fear over the town and slicing it apart with a walled-off ghetto for the Jewish residents. ... More
Irena Sendler was 29 years old when Nazi tanks slithered into Warsaw, casting a shadow of fear over the town and slicing it apart with a walled-off ghetto for the Jewish residents.
It had an echo of Nicholas Sparks to it, but it was real life, and the story went viral: An Ohio couple married for 73 years died just 28 hours apart. ... More
It had an echo of Nicholas Sparks to it, but it was real life, and the story went viral: An Ohio couple married for 73 years died just 28 hours apart.
"Lena Dunham is not done confessing." ... More
"Lena Dunham is not done confessing."