Years ago, writer Pico Iyer lost everything in a wildfire. This is what he learned
After a 1990 wildfire destroyed his home and possessions, Iyer started over. The loss led him to a Benedictine monastery, where he found comfort and compassion in solitude. His new memoir is Aflame.
How We Deal With Loss In Different Ways In Two Beautifully Written Memoirs
In Abigail Thomas' What Comes Next and How to Like It, the aging process robs the 70-something of beauty and energy. In H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald trains a goshawk after her father dies.
Inspired By Monks, A Writer Embraces His Life Of Solitude
Fenton Johnson says that while alone, people can "find the richest possible ways of being in the world." He's lived alone for more than 20 years. His Harper's article describes his pursuit.
Bio Credits Manson's Terrible Rise To Right Place And Time
California parolee Charles Manson arrived in San Francisco in 1967, when the city was full of young seeking a guru. In Manson, Jeff Guinn says it was the perfect spot for him to enact his cult vision.
'Gone Girl': A Gripping Film That's More Fun Than The Book
Based on a screenplay by author Gillian Flynn, the movie is sensationally effective. It's made like a classic noir — evenly paced, with an elegance that in context is deeply perverse.
A Writer Moves To 'Bettyville' To Care For His Elderly Mom
In 2011, George Hodgman visited his mother Betty for her 91st birthday in Paris, Missouri. When he saw she needed care, he left Manhattan to live with her. But she still hasn't accepted that he's gay.
50 Years Of The Hollies
Not many bands can celebrate a silver anniversary, which is why Fresh Air music historian Ed Ward wishes more people made a bigger deal out of The Hollies.
Fresh Air Remembers Pioneering Documentary Filmmaker Albert Maysles
Maysles and his late brother David made the 1976 film Grey Gardens, a study of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' relatives who lived in squalor in their decaying mansion. He died last week at age of 88.
James McMurtry Is More Expressive Than Ever On 'Complicated Game'
Complicated Game demonstrates a new range of style and subject matter for McMurtry.