read and commented on the manuscript, including April Lawson, James Hitchcock, Emily Esfahani Smith, Shaylyn Romney Garrett, Celeste Marcus, and Pete Wehner. Their advice was brilliant, their counsel invaluable. I’d also like to thank Maria Popova, whose Brain Pickings blog is a continual source of wisdom and guidance.
I probably haven’t written enough in this book about how we are formed by institutions. I’ve been blessed to have my life intertwined with at least five amazing ones. The first is All Our Kids. I write about my second family in chapter 8. Let me take an extra minute to thank not only David Simpson and Kathy Fletcher, but also Sarah P. and Emilia, not to mention Thalya, Tahrook, Madeline, Kleo, Keyno, Nabil, James, Koleco, Craig, Shaughn, Bella, Kesari, Santi, Bisah, Chyna, Nueta, Azarri, Brandon, Edd, and literally dozens of others. They have provided companionship, an emotional education, and the musical soundtrack for this phase of my life.
The second is The New York Times. Working with my fellow columnists is like working in the middle of an intellectual combustion engine. Working under James Bennet and Jim Dao and with James Hitchcock means you know that, despite appearances, the combustion engine won’t actually explode. Serving our readers is a constant exercise in humility, in ways pleasant and painful.
The third is Yale University. I taught this book as a course at the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, with the glowing and forbearing support of its director, Jim Levinsohn. Any professor knows you learn as much from your students as you teach them; I certainly did. I also learned from an array of Yale colleagues, especially Bryan Garsten, Miroslav Volf, Steven Smith, Christian Wiman, Tony Kronman, Stan McChrystal, Charles Hill, and John Lewis Gaddis.
The fourth is the Aspen Institute. Thanks to the trustees of the institute, I have had the chance to spend the past year traveling the country meeting the most inspiring and selfless people I have ever encountered. I’d especially like to thank Daniel Porterfield, Eric Motley, Jim Crown, Bob Steel, Lynda and Stewart Resnick, and, above all, my Weave colleagues: Tom Loper, April Lawson, Shaylyn Romney Garrett, Krystle Starvis, Isabel Soto, Celeste Marcus, and so many more.
Finally, there is Penguin Random House. This is my third book with this house, and I am the rare author who has nothing but good things to say about his publisher. Will Murphy brought me into the house. Andy Ward edited this book with insight and care. Gina Centrello wondered if I was going all woo-woo about eight years ago, but I hope she is satisfied with the Brooks woo-woo phase. Cole Louison is an absolutely amazing fact-checker. Campbell Schnebly-Swanson approached her research work with the verve and flair that marks her life.
I want to acknowledge a few other people. Everybody has a side hustle, and mine is being a pundit on radio and TV. In that role, for the past twenty years, I’ve had a chance to sit side by side with Mark Shields. It’s been one of the great blessings of my life. Mark is rooted in his commitments, generous with his friendship, funny in his manner, and smart, fair, and provocative in our shared work.
My kids—Joshua, Naomi, and Aaron—have had hills and valleys, too, over the past few years, but they have emerged as smart, caring, mature, knowledgeable, and strong young adults. Hanging around them is sheer delight, every time. Every time my kids hit a new stage in life, I always think: Oh, this is the best stage of all. My mother, Lois, died while I was writing this book, and so I was deprived of my best and toughest editor. My father has endured her passing with selfless grace and good cheer.
Finally, Anne. A core argument in this book is that we can be broken open during those times when we are in the valley. We can also be broken open by love. The love that I feel for Anne and receive from her colors everything, warms everything. When people try to describe her, they usually settle on the same word: incandescent. This book has been, and the rest of my life will be, warmed and guided by Anne’s light.
NOTES
Introduction
“I cleaned it so that he could”: Barry Schwartz and Kenneth Sharpe, Practical Wisdom (New York: Riverhead, 2010/2011), 10.
“The load, or weight”: C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (New York: HarperOne, 1976), 10.
“The longer Levin mowed”: Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina, trans. Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (New