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From the archives

American Judge

The normal is gone

The Trust Spiral

Restoring faith in the media

Lax Americana

What happens if Donald Trump returns to the White House?

Joel Yanofsky

Joel Yanofsky is the author of the memoir Bad Animals: A Father’s Accidental Education in Autism.

Articles by
Joel Yanofsky

Mr. Lithuania in Canada

A portrait of the artist as a parking-lot attendant and bingo caller July–August 2017
Several years ago a young man asked me what it takes to write a memoir. “Wait for something bad to happen,” I told him. Then, by way of encouragement, I added, “Don’t worry. It will.” This was more curse, I see now, than helpful writerly advice. In my defence, I had so-called misery memoirs on the…

Failing Better

A poet's messy second chance at fatherhood March 2015
A few years ago, after writing a memoir about my family, specifically my son’s autism diagnosis, I was grateful to receive the occasional email or Facebook message commending me on being a good father. Grateful but also surprised. I secretly wondered: what book were they reading? After all, my portrait of myself was of a man overwhelmed by self-pity—more frustrating than…

A Mensch for All Seasons

The life and times of a memorable centenarian. March 2011
Last December, after the film version of Barney’s Version came out, I noticed that the chatter on my Facebook page about the movie and the Mordecai Richler novel it was based on had taken a familiar turn. One FB “friend” wondered, without going into detail, whether anyone else was disturbed by the anti-Semitism in the…

Whiskey Sour

A great family saga full of booze, ambition … and shame. September 2006