Born and raised in Long Beach, CA, I wrote my way through UC Santa Cruz and after a year working as an EMT dispatcher, the Iowa Writers' Workshop--where I met my future wife, Mindy Pennybacker (Do One Green Thing). I have taught at the New School and Pace, work with authors one on one for publishers, spent two decades editing and creating publications including stints at Time Inc, Hearst, Conde Nast and The New York Times. My memoir, The French House, comes out June 2014. My nf book One Great Game contrasted two American high schools and their respective homtetowns: one inner-city, one wealthy suburb. Among other work, Harper's has run 3 linked memoirs on race, community, and family.