Valerie Laken was taking graduate courses in Slavic literature in Ann Arbor, Mich., when she persuaded her husband to buy a fixer-upper in a neighborhood just beginning to gentrify. They were working on the house soon after they moved in when an old man across the street came by. So, he said, you know the history of this place, right? When Laken said no, the man proceeded to tell them. ...more

March 15, 2009

The men and women sit silently, their chairs forming a circle. The room is still. A woman leans back, eyes closed. A man sits up straight, taking deep, controlled breaths. ...more

February 2, 2008

The men and women sit silently, their chairs forming a circle. Around them, the room is still. A woman leans back, eyes closed. A man sits up straight, taking deep, controlled breaths. ...more

January 28, 2008

Where Torsten Ringberg is concerned, the key to marketing angle grinders and reciprocating saws to bricklayers or carpenters isn't muscle. It's feelings. ...more

January 28, 2008