I recently buried my uncle. It’s the first funeral I’ve ever done within my family. Writing it made me wish I had known Uncle Don better. (I come from a very large family. “Be fruitful and multiply” was about the only commandment our family system collectively got right. Writing...

In April 2010, The New York Times published a story about Desiree Pardi, a 41-year-old breast cancer patient who refused hospice and insisted on the most aggressive treatments even after her doctor told her she’d exhausted all of her options.  She pursued active treatment of her disease until the...

When my dad turned eighteen, he was not thinking of becoming a husband, a father, or a pastor; he was planning to become a priest. He was raised in a Catholic New England family, and when he announced an interest in the priesthood, my grandparents were elated. The fall after his high school graduation,...