Sometimes they’re angry and sometimes they’re sad. Many times they simply want to ask if I’m happy now. Or say they hope I am. These are my readers, and they are men. They are the men who read my memoir, Sister of Silence. Not a few of them were once Read more…
Many years ago as a young news reporter, I learned what happens when a government agency attempts to violate their employees’ right to free speech. They live to regret it. Almost without exception, it pays to be painfully honest when faced with a sensitive situation—such as the death of a Read more…
The contrast between defense attorney and client couldn’t have been more stark: His voice boomed. It was by far the loudest in the courtroom. Distinct and certain, everyone seated inside the wood-paneled room could hear him without the need to lean forward, fearful of missing a single syllable. Hers was Read more…
A walk near dusk in my nearly deserted neighborhood reinforced why I choose to live here: a mailbox with the hand-painted words “Mountaineer fans live here”; a set of clay hands, cast in a gesture of prayer; a lawn mover left unattended on a well-manicured lawn; a few friendly people Read more…
The most difficult part of covering the Skylar Neese story is deciding which hat to wear: journalist or author. But that’s nothing compared to the challenge of being Skylar’s parents, on days like this one. Yesterday I tweeted that “she who has been named” had finally, after months of silence Read more…