My last two years in high school were absolutely miserable. In the junior and senior years of a highly competitive school, one’s whole existence becomes the frantic preparation to enter the next highly competitive situation. Even the most casual conversations turned to SAT scores and grade point averages. What were...

“I admit I’ve made mistakes, but I’m not a bad human being.”It was a phrase I heard dozens of times during the series of prison interviews I conducted. The young, articulate man who sat on the opposite side of the long table had gunned down two guards in a botched...

Photo by Constance MyersI am a writer; I am a reader; I am a thinker; and I am a listener. Sometimes I hear things that disturb me. I hear now a whisper that is on the wind, and it says, "Despair the children." Voices rustling like dry leaves spread rumors...