The Case of the Stolen Ruby Slippers
In this cover story for The Washington Post Magazine, I uncover one of the most infamous crimes in Hollywood history.
The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death
For The New Yorker, I wrote about Frances Glessner Lee, who invented crime scene investigation using tiny dollhouses depicting homicides, accidents, and suicides.
The Endless Robbing of Native American Graves
For a cover story in The Washington Post Magazine, I exposed the harrowing true crime story of American pothunters.
After the Cure
This essay started out as a love letter to all us daughters of difficult mothers. It morphed into a love letter to my difficult mother, and it remains one of my most-read stories.
On Nostalgia
This essay delves into family secrets, grief, and the multi-layered mysteries of family history.
A Modern Girl’s Guide to Childbirth
This short story, published in PANK magazine, was selected by Roxane Gay as a Wigleaf Short Fiction winner.
Rocket to Venus
In 1927, a Baltimore inventor built a rocket to get to the planet Venus. Nearly a century later, a documentary crew is on a mission to find it.
Claire McCardell
“Men are free from the clothes problem—why should I not follow their example?” A profile of Claire McCardell who took on the fashion industry and revolutionized what women wear.
The Last Bullet
Two rival cultural organizations hear a rumor that one of the wealthiest women in town is on her deathbed. The hunt for her inheritance begins.
The Architecture of Civility
Architecture is more than aesthetics. It is humanity’s values writ large. Who might we ideally be? And how might architecture help to get us there?
Notes From a Suicide
This essay about my grandmother’s tragic death was recognized as a notable essay in the Best American Essays anthology.
Danish Modern
This short story, which first appeared in the Winter 2013 issue of The Little Patuxent Review, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
The Sea of Tranquility
An aging astronaut struggles with soaring expectations and an unexpected phobia in this story published in The Southern Review.
McSweeney’s
In 2017 the Mall of America announced a writer-in-residence program and the idea of living and writing inside a mall inspired this piece for McSweeney’s Internet Tendencies.
Snake in the Garden
The shocking history of one of America’s earliest garden suburbs and how bigotry shaped the landscape of American real estate.
My Life as a Rock-and-Roll Roadie
I was once a roadie for one of the biggest rock bands of the day and I wrote about the experience for Slate.
