"The Harper's Essay" and "My Father's Brain"
See also: Why Bother? (essay)Included in the collection are "Why Bother?"—a revised version of "Perchance to Dream," Franzen's infamous 1996 Harper's essay on the novelists' obligation to social realism—and "My Father's Brain," nominated for a 2002 National Magazine Award. The latter essay details the elder Franzen's struggle with Alzheimer's, a disease Franzen explored in his 2001 novel The Corrections.
Read more about this topic: How To Be Alone
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