Parenting & Families

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone reviews a novel and a memoir, both of which take a close, realistic look at the often fraught relationship.

Jamie Wyeth's grandfather, N.C. Wyeth was an illustrator; his father is the renowned realist painter Andrew Wyeth. The youngest Wyeth tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross about the various ways he honed his craft -- without a formal art school education.

After decades in Lebanon, missionary Ben Weir was kidnapped by a jihadi group. His wife, Carol Weir, worked tirelessly to secure his release. They've cowritten a memoir about the ordeal, called Hostage Bound, Hostage Free.

Book critic John Leonard says the memoir section of Eileen Simpson's new hybrid book, about her own experiences as an orphan, is compelling and insightful; her later meditations on the idea of orphanhood are less successful.

Former New York Times reporter Joyce Maynard moved to New Hampshire to start a family, where she started her Domestic Affairs column, which examines her new life as a writer and mother. A book of the same name has just been published.

Psychotherapist Eileen Simpson grew up as an orphan; her mother died from tuberculosis. As a young adult, she moved to Greenwich Village and married the poet John Berryman. Writing came to her later in life, after she split up with the renowned poet. Her new book is called Orphans: Real and Imaginary.

Critic Ken Tucker says that the movie adaptation of the celebrated play Crimes of the Heart, now shrunk down for home consumption, is no better--and sometimes worse--than many popular television shows.

New music composer John Harbison was drawn to classical music because the genre leant itself to longer pieces and a deeper exploration of musical ideas. He often writes for his wife, the violinist Rosemary Harbison.

The renowned soloist says the nature of his instrument demands that he be flexible about also playing supportively in ensemble settings. He talks about how the death of his parents, both of whom were musicians, contributed to his artistic development.

Fifty-one-year-old author Avery Corman has a new book called 50. He joins Fresh Air guest host Liane Hansen to talk about the different ways men and women view aging. Corman first rose to prominence with his novel Kramer Versus Kramer.

Humorist Alfred Gingold describes the sensation of sorting through a sprawling record collection with a loved one.

Adam Hochschild, founder of the leftist magazine "Mother Jones." He's written a memoir about his ambivalent relationship with his father, an industrialist who operated a string of gold and diamond mines in South Africa.

TV Critic David Bianculli will preview the new ABC series "thirtysomething."

English writer Ian McEwan, whose new novel is called The Child in Time. It's about the loss of a child and the child that endures through adulthood.

Actress Colleen Dewhurst. She is currently starring as Eugene O'Neill's widow in the one-woman show "My Gene."

Singer Judy Collins. She's just written an autobiography; it's titled Trust Your Heart.

Critic-at-Large Laurie Stone discusses the new ABC television series "thirtysomething."

Jan Harold Brunvand explores the urban legend about the solid cement car.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the movie "3 Men and a Baby."

Dr. David Elkind, a professor and author of books on child development. His new book, Miseducation: Preschoolers at Risk, warns of possible dangers to children who are pushed too hard to achieve too much at too early an age.