How Did I Catch the Coronavirus? For the majority of the nearly five million COVID-19 cases across the United States, the point of infection is unknown. August 7, 2020 The Whispered Spell of the Clavichord A cherished friend and a historic keyboard instrument have given me a new way of listening. July 28, 2020 Breonna Taylor Can’t Tell Her Story of Police Abuse, but I’m Here to Tell Mine I can’t remember exactly how many seconds passed before I saw the other police officer, crouched on the stairway, with an assault rifle pointed directly at my chest. July 22, 2020 The Two Sides of the Bowery In the nineteen-seventies, you would see crime, drugs, and dead bodies on the infamous strip; you might also spot Debbie Harry, Mick Jagger, or the founding members of Talking Heads. July 19, 2020 Living Through Turbulent Times with Jane Austen How six unexpectedly far-ranging novels carried me through eight years, two births, one death, and a changing world. July 17, 2020 What Is Distance Learning For? Ms. V did this with eighteen kids, every single day. How hard could it be for us to do it with one kid, our own? July 17, 2020 The Purpose of a House For my daughters, the pandemic was a relief from race-related stress at school. Then George Floyd was killed. June 25, 2020 Growing Up with Juneteenth How a Texan holiday became a national tradition. June 19, 2020 The Way I Ate I tried to be the perfect teen-age girl. But I was also a troubled one, and the dark part of my adolescence became its heart. June 13, 2020 The Riddle of Solitude in the Age of the Coronavirus As a writer, I’ve always craved time alone. But the pandemic has shown me that not all solitude is created equal. May 16, 2020