There are times as a parent when you realize that your job is not to be the parent you always imagined you'd be, the parent you always wished you had. Your job is to be the parent your child needs, given the particulars of his or her own life and nature.

As a parent, the only thing I am absolutely certain of is my own fallibility.

I love reader mail, and I do read it, but I won't read hate mail.

My father is sure that Israel keeps the Holocaust from happening again. I worry that it might hasten its recurrence.

In a perfect world I think we would microdose with LSD instead of giving teenagers Adderall. But I'd like to see it studied first.

My new novel 'Red Hook Road' began many years ago as a short article in the newspaper.

Roaring like a tiger turns some children into pianists who debut at Carnegie Hall but only crushes others. Coddling gives some the excuse to fail and others the chance to succeed.