I love the bigness of the world. My most profoundly peaceful and interesting place is up on top of a mountain where I can see really far. And that’s not just because I happen to love mountains, although I do. I am soothed and intrigued by the experience of the longest possible view. I’m profoundly drawn to questions of scale.

We human beings have a... See more

Do you understand his temperament as an act of denial or an act of acceptance?

What an interesting question. I’ve never been asked that before. I suppose I understand his temperament mostly as a great gift.

I’m not trying to deny my father the credit he deserves. I know my father made a great many decisions about the kind of life he wanted to live... See more