RIP Kahlil, 1999-2013

June 17, 2013

I’ve been out of pocket for a few weeks, extremely distracted and disinterested in anything related to writing. We had …

“Six Feet Under” resonates

May 14, 2013

I wrote a short essay for the University of Minnesota Press blog on “Six Feet Under” and our culture of …

April 2, 2013

Amy Goetzman of MinnPost interviewed me recently about my book. I talk about what makes a cemetery inviting, the phenomenon …

March 10, 2013

I got to my hotel in Boston around midnight on Tuesday. By 9 a.m. Wednesday morning, I was on my …

February 17, 2013

I heard someone the other day criticize people for writing about grief. His reasoning was that everyone has lost someone, …

January 2, 2013

I thought this story from the Washington Post was brilliant. In times of national grief and sorrow, we can find …

October 18, 2012

I need this book. The short review in ObitMag intrigued me. Apparently, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ famous five stages of grief (denial, …

September 22, 2012

This is a photo of my Grandpa and Grandma Hager and their 14 kids, taken around 1957. Dad is second …

September 1, 2012

I’m thrilled that Claire Bidwell Smith has agreed to kick off my occasional series featuring authors. Claire’s memoir, The Rules …