Author Archives: slcantwell25

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About slcantwell25

A writer focused on the transforming power of memory, autism, parenting, and the ways we know what we know.

The Man on the Train

Posted on August 11, 2018 by slcantwell25

You may have seen him—the man on the commuter train to Los Angeles—leaning over his laptop, glasses slipping down his nose, wired in, absorbed, on deadline, not to be disturbed. Because he wears a suit and tie, you may assume … Continue reading →

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The Sorrows of Physicist Max Planck

Posted on December 31, 2017 by slcantwell25

Consider for a moment the sorrows of Max Planck, the theoretical physicist who originated quantum theory. In 1909, his wife, Marie Merck, died of tuberculosis. In 1914, his son, Erwin, was taken prisoner by the French during the First World … Continue reading →

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The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Posted on December 31, 2017 by slcantwell25

At a recent library sale, I paid twenty-five cents for a new paperback copy of Milan Kundera’s novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being to replace the dog-eared, yellowing copy I’ve had for 35 years. Still, I find it hard to … Continue reading →

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Young Iranians and Americans at Twenty

Posted on December 31, 2017 by slcantwell25

On November 4, 1979 radical Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, capturing 66 hostages who would not be free for 444 days. I was a Mormon missionary in New Mexico at the time. Twenty years old. This ominous … Continue reading →

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Man at the Fire

Posted on June 9, 2017 by slcantwell25

We shared a birthday, my father and I, July twenty-fifth (1933 and 1959 respectively), and often celebrated with a trip to the Oregon coast. Just the two of us. We’d drive out from Portland on a Friday evening after dad … Continue reading →

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The Invisible Salman Rushdie

Posted on April 27, 2016 by slcantwell25

One could argue the death threat Salman Rushdie received from Ayatollah Khomeini for writing The Satanic Verses ranks among the worst rejections in literary history. Fueled by Khomeini’s fatwa, or edict, Rushdie’s enemies not only banned and burned his book, … Continue reading →

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Ninety-six Hours in Toronto, June 2003

Posted on July 3, 2014 by slcantwell25

I keep travel notebooks, always have—writing more in three or four days than I write in six months at home. Being in motion lights me up. I have notebooks for Hong Kong, New Orleans, Vancouver BC, Mexico City, San Francisco, Taipei, … Continue reading →

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Back to the Middle of It

Posted on May 6, 2014 by slcantwell25

My son Colin has made such incredible progress in recent years. He’s in fifth grade, singing in a choir, playing piano, riding around on roller blades, speaking and singing in church, filling up journals with poems and songs, drawing, dancing, … Continue reading →

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At the Hop

Posted on September 16, 2013 by slcantwell25

When he was ten years old, my son Colin came up with the idea of a Valentines party for his friends at school—girls and boys. Maura, always game for a party, helped him cut out handmade invitations in the shape of … Continue reading →

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Running Band of Brothers

Posted on September 14, 2013 by slcantwell25

In high school I ran cross country and fell in among true friends. At the core was a half dozen of us who started together in ninth grade and were still running on the varsity team our senior year. We … Continue reading →

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