A few weeks ago I had the odd experience of hearing someone speaking with Terry Gross on Fresh Air—a voice I seemed to know but couldn’t quite place. Toward the end of the interview, when Terry asked, “What made you decide to write novels?” The voice replied: “To tell the truth.” After the interview ended, Terry added, “That was an excerpt from my 1988 interview with the Canadian writer Jane Rule, who passed away on November 27th.” Strange the way news reaches us these days. But the shock is the same as if it had come by registered letter.Read More