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Blog Posts

The Secret of Memoirs

When I decided to write a memoir, I went to the library and methodically made my way through every memoir on their shelves. For years I had been writing idea-driven books, and now I had to learn how to write pure narrative. A memoir should simply tell a story, without analysis or commentary. Before long, I found the kind of memoir I didn’t want to write. Some people live such adventurous lives that they merely recount the facts. A fine ...

“No man is an island…”

I’ve written several books about pain and suffering, and in 2013 I wrote yet another one, titled The Question That Never Goes Away. It recounted my visits to three grieving places: Japan after the tsunami; Sarajevo after the civil war; and Newtown, Connecticut, after the school shootings at Sandy Hook. The book had only modest sales, not meeting expectations. Last week, however, I received the following letter from my publisher in Ukraine, which gives a heartrending account of life near ...

Why Go Back?

An Associated Press poll last year reported that three-quarters of churchgoers in the U.S. plan to resume regular in-person attendance as the pandemic subsides. The pastors I know, looking out at the empty seats, still have their fingers crossed, hoping that prediction will eventually come true. I confess that during the lockdown I rather enjoyed watching church services online while lounging in my bathrobe, sipping coffee, and controlling the pace with a remote. If something failed to hold my interest, ...

Music Amidst the Rubble

As Holy Week approaches each year, I turn to my favorite part of the Gospels, John 13-17. Many other passages seem rushed. They leave me longing for more sensory detail and pondering the meaning of Jesus’ cryptic sayings. In these five chapters, the author slows the pace almost cinematically. After all, it’s the group’s last supper together. One by one, the key disciples make an appearance in John’s account. Peter picks an argument with Jesus and then quickly yields. John ...

No More Tears Left

For more than a month the world watched as Russian forces encircled the nation of Ukraine, while staunchly insisting they had no plans to invade. Now we watch daily as the horror unfolds. Artillery shells falling on a nuclear power plant. Kindergartens bombed. Apartment blocks and entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble. A tank obliterating a family sitting in a car. Hundreds of orphans, some unaccompanied, walking into Poland, dazed and crying into their scarves. Evacuation routes bombed. Residents drinking water ...