Recent Travels

I’ve been doing some traveling lately. Over Memorial Day weekend, I visited Nebraska with my wife, who is a Cornhusker from Omaha. We spent the weekend visiting the graves of her family, some of whom are buried in the city and others in cemeteries not far away in small towns with quaint names—Valley, Wahoo, Fremont. … Read more

Snow Angels Among Us

I confess that I have always believed in angels, quite literally. I’ve experienced angelic intervention several times in my life. But I also know that there are angels among us who are only too human. And my daughter is one. She’s what in St. Paul are called Snow Angels. This is a small group of … Read more

Father’s Day

Father’s Day is here, and I’d like to make this public statement: The most influential man in my life was my father. Because of him, I’m a writer. He was a high school English teacher. One of the best and most profound memories I have of my father was listening to him read to me … Read more

Memorial Day

“The dead are never far from us. They’re in our hearts and on our minds and in the end all that separates us from them is a single breath, one final puff of air.” With these words, I ended my novel Ordinary Grace. Every Memorial Day, I’m reminded how true these sentiments are when I take part in … Read more

Midway

The house where my wife and I raised our children, the house my daughter now owns, is three blocks from the epicenter of the rioting and looting that took place in St. Paul last week, an area called Midway. On Thursday night, she called us on the hour to let us know she was fine. … Read more