There are households with a “golden child.” Brooke belonged to the Martinez family. Then there was Lina, the person they had forgotten about until they needed someone to contrast her with. When her parents finally expressed what she had felt her entire life, she was twenty-six years old. She wasn’t shocked by the words. Even…
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Myth, spectacle, and controversy have long dominated the public’s impression of Michael Jackson. He was regarded by the world as the King of Pop, a celestial being who redefined the importance of dancing and the scope of international celebrity. However, Paris Jackson saw the man behind the moonwalk as a startlingly grounded human being. Paris…
Few moments have resonated with as much intellectual intensity as Meryl Streep’s recent in-depth exploration of the semiotics of political fashion, despite the fact that the junction of Hollywood royalty and political power has long been a place of great tension. The three-time Academy Award winner focused her analytical attention on one of the most…
Most of us are conditioned to disregard the secret, desperate frontier that lurks under the shadow of the booming highway, where the rhythm of daily life never really slows down. Thousands of commuters rush by every day, preoccupied with grocery lists, office deadlines, and the basic need to get home. They are unaware that a…
David Letterman was the unchallenged king of late-night television for many years. He defined an era of humor with his trademark dry delivery, gap-toothed grin, and quick wit. However, the legacy of his time at The Late Show has come under close examination as cultural norms have changed and the focus of contemporary social consciousness…
The advent of a child is thought to be the pinnacle of a woman’s existence, characterized by the overwhelming flood of joy that erases the weariness of labor and the sharp, piercing cry of new life. For one family, however, a day of anticipation turned into a waking nightmare when the expected symphony was abruptly…
There is still a deep and disquieting conflict in the core of the American legal system. The country takes great pleasure in the ideas of reform and second chances, but it also struggles with one of the most divisive and painful issues in criminal law: how should the law handle minors who commit the most…
At fifty-nine years old, my name is Margaret, and I have had an apparently flawless life. I take great pride in parenting my granddaughter, Sophie, with love and grace. I am also a valued member of my community and a grandma. However, there is a shadow that has followed me for more than 40 years—a…
Rarely is marriage the dramatic explosion that films depict; often, it is a quiet, gradual deterioration. Over the course of sixteen years, the great gestures and passionate conversations gradually give way to the practicalities of living, such as grocery lists, dentist visits, and the automated scheduling of carpools. Eventually, you stop holding hands in the…
My sister Marissa was a master of the backhanded praise when she was younger. She had a horrifying ability to make brutality seem endearing, delivering insults in a lovely accent that made people laugh before they understood they were seeing a character assassination. She found me even more alluring because I was thirty years old,…
