That a friendship ends doesn't mean it was weak from the outset; that it ends says nothing about its importance. — Rumaan Alam Friend Copy Share Image
I think it's a not-uncommon experience for gay boys, young men, and even older men to spend a lot of time in… — Rumaan Alam Business Copy Share Image
Some writers are prolific; some are shape-shifters. It's rare and intimidating to encounter one who is both. — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
When I was somewhere between child and adult, my father left us. My first family broke apart, but this liberated me to… — Rumaan Alam Children Copy Share Image
For many writers, the endless performance of being a writer - tweeting, appearing, making the rounds - is required simply to attract… — Rumaan Alam Attention Copy Share Image
Class is very, very fertile territory for American artists, and it has been for a long time. — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
Does a bona fide chimichurri have cilantro in it? Who cares? Cooking for your family, unless your family includes Joel Rubouchon, is… — Rumaan Alam Cooking Copy Share Image
Usually, when you see clothes on a model, by some transitive property, that garment is imbued with her beauty. — Rumaan Alam Beauty Copy Share Image
Is deciding what you like an instinct, a sense that arrives as swiftly as my autoimmune response to cat dander? Or is… — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
Before the arrival of my first son, I gave up on the moribund business of magazine publishing, where I had long dreamed… — Rumaan Alam Business Copy Share Image
In a strange way, Louise Erdrich is perhaps our least famous great American writer; she is not reclusive, but she is reticent,… — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
My husband and I adopted our children through a private agency, Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children. As a nonprofit organization, it… — Rumaan Alam Adopted children Copy Share Image
Contemporary families can be made in many ways. You might step up when relatives or friends are unable to meet their obligation… — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
Checking your phone during dinner is no less rude than reading 'People' during dinner, which I once saw a woman do at… — Rumaan Alam Blue Copy Share Image
I always like it when writers posit writing as an act of empathy. It's such a grand turn of phrase, such a… — Rumaan Alam Art Copy Share Image
Lindsay Hatton's novel 'Monterey Bay' so beautifully evokes the landscape of the titular locale, you'll feel transported to Northern California even if… — Rumaan Alam California Copy Share Image
I have a theory that because my kitchen is small, you can't preheat an oven and deal with dough at the same… — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
That's part of fashion's promise: that a girlfriend or boyfriend or a promotion are just one tie or sweater or pair of… — Rumaan Alam Fashion Copy Share Image
By a considerable margin, my family's largest-ever financial expenditure was the adoption of our two sons. — Rumaan Alam Family Copy Share Image
It comforts the adult conscience to remember that, amid history's grave injustices, there were still great lives. — Rumaan Alam Conscience Copy Share Image
Men's fashion's tendency toward uniformity promises little fun, but at least it offers this: If I wear sweatpants and sneakers, I can… — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
Truly smart people and truly smart dressers share one thing in common: They make it look easy. — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
The person most qualified to tell the tale of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the man himself, as gifted an intellect as he is… — Rumaan Alam Athlete Copy Share Image
Genre is a useful thing when organizing texts in a bookshop but immaterial to the particular exchange between writer and reader. — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
Shopping for clothes is time consuming, it's tiring, and it can feel like a waste of an autumn afternoon. — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
Fashion has underscored the interchangeability of men for a long time, maybe from the outset. — Rumaan Alam Fashion Copy Share Image
If you can't empathize with other people, then you will never really be able to write well about them. — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
Children are weird. I was going to say 'most children,' but I think this a rare universal law. — Rumaan Alam Children Copy Share Image
Everyone on Twitter - everyone on the Internet - seems so damn certain. Brevity doesn't allow for nuance, and it's a nice… — Rumaan Alam Brevity Copy Share Image
When I look at the list of my favorite works, writers who are women do tend to outnumber writers who are men… — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
It is true for my family and many others: Adoption has made us infinitely richer in the ways that matter most. — Rumaan Alam Adoption Copy Share Image
Children's literature - the product of adult guesswork - often fails to account for its audience's slippery grasp on the world. — Rumaan Alam Audience Copy Share Image
I am a binge reader, with a tendency to throw myself at a writer, immerse myself in their work. — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
I work when I'm alone, but I have children and a family and a job, so alone time is at a premium. — Rumaan Alam Alone Copy Share Image
Parenting is love, sure, but it's as much about receiving love as it is giving it. Parenthood is a kind of vanity. — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
Summer is meant to be for travel, for exploration, for leisure, but sometimes budgets and schedules dictate otherwise. — Rumaan Alam Exploration Copy Share Image
There are probably some readers who don't want a great American writer to acknowledge that cleaning out the bottom drawer of the… — Rumaan Alam Copy Share Image
I know I've had a charmed experience of being a parent, with healthy kids, a helpful partner, access to good day care,… — Rumaan Alam Day Copy Share Image
I've spent many hours of my life browsing in stores. At 21, I admired clothes I couldn't afford. At 30, I bought… — Rumaan Alam Beautiful Copy Share Image
When we had our first son, four different people gave us the same present: a copy of Ezra Jack Keats' 'The Snowy… — Rumaan Alam Day Copy Share Image
