In the wake of her mother’s death, eighteen-year-old Claire Bidwell Smith goes traveling in Europe.

An author writes a book people aren’t sure they understand or want — so she examines why she wrote it at all.

Living with the idea of karma, while trying not to freak out about the future.

How do you feel about being self-interviewed by The Nervous Breakdown?

Intrigued and challenged. I’ve always been tempted to have one (a nervous breakdown)—but that is a luxury I could never afford. There is an unyielding voice in my head urging me to go further, do more, achieve—and that sense of responsibility has never allowed me much rest, or the space to emotionally deconstruct. It is also the reason I don’t do drink or do drugs.

Why did you name your memoir Intimate Wars?

We are all soldiers (whether we consciously enlist or not) in the great struggle for reproductive justice.

Ultimately women’s bodies are battlefields in the most intimate of wars; that is, the ability to determine when and whether or not we want to become mothers.

Eckert contemplates the significance of beginning his third decade on Earth in Beijing.

A conversation with the author of two bestselling memoirs.

If someone were to ask three specific questions about your book that would lead to an explanation of you, what would those three be?

What would they ask? Let’s see….

1. Did you know that these were warning signs as a kid: Counting while you bit your fingernails, chewing your sweatshirt sleeves in a perfect circle pattern, and wearing your sister’s hand-me-down pink cut-off shorts while memorizing the digits of pi?

2. How does a middleclass kid get expelled from three high schools in three different states and end up living out of a Greyhound Bus station in Texas?

3. Why didn’t you learn from your mistakes? Are you stupid or just foolish?

Nice. Now thinking of your story and all the extreme reactions to your characters: People love Coop even though he’s crazy and violent. Is he really the way that you portrayed him?

With Coop, I never considered exaggerating or changing a thing. He’s a wonderful mix of loyal, angry, athletic, loving, and charismatic. He’s pure juxtaposition. I like watching him read aloud to his toddler, shirtless, with gnarly bruises, scars, and tattoos all over his body.

A lot of the reviewers have been really harsh on your father, but your fans on Goodreads and Facebook see him another way. What’s up with the disparity?

I don’t know. It seems like some of the reviewers didn’t read the end of the book. But fans did. They read the redemption. Yes, my father made some bad decisions during a three-year period, but he’s 64 years old. If a college football coach had a record of 61-3, he’d be in the Hall of Fame. I’m not saying that my father’s perfect now, but he’s a pretty damn good grandfather, and he’s learned from his mistakes. He knows how to let go. And I like hanging out with him, watching baseball games with him or going to coffee. We all have bad years, and parenting is tough, so I can’t judge him too harshly.

Cheney writes about the events leading up to her first suicide attempt at age 7.

Hank Cherry remembers an entire February spent hiking through Maine.