Life Lessons, with authors Nick Flynn and Roger Rosenblatt

When Nick Flynn was seven years old, his mother set fire to their house. The event loomed large in his imagination for years, but it’s only after having a child of his own that he understands why. He returns with his young daughter to the landscape of his youth, reflecting on how his feral childhood has him still in its reins, and forms his memories into lyrical bedtime stories in his new book This is the Night Our House Will Catch Fire. Approaching the winter solstice of his own life, Roger Rosenblatt offers a new book, Cold Moon, dedicated to the three most important lessons he has learned over his many years: an appreciation of being alive, a recognition of the gift and power of love, and the necessity of exercising responsibility toward one another. Interviewed by Jenny Altschuler