Notable Narratives

Learning Their Lessons

Here’s what Sandoval e-mailed us about this story: “Most young journalists believe they have to spend six months or so to publish a quality narrative piece. But that’s not always…

Facing Life With a Lethal Gene

Katharine Moser asks for a genetic test to determine if she will eventually develop Huntington’s disease. She learns she does carry the gene mutation that caused the death of her…

A People Torn: Cleo’s Story

Schmickle and the project’s editor, Laurie Hertzel, wrote us the following comments on this project:Sharon Schmickle: Two years ago, I began hearing that several thousand Liberians had arrived recently in…

Sex-Crime Cop’s Pursuit: Who was telling the truth?

Rather than reconstruct a tale of crime from the victim’s perspective or after the suspect is found guilty—approaches we see more often—O’Hagan tells the story of a cop. The story…

Head Trip

Bearak’s use of first person is especially unusual in this piece about Adam Greenberg, a baseball player who, on his first day in the Majors, gets beaned in the head…

Silent Inferno

This account of the 2006 California heat wave that killed 138 people cruises on the drama of the event, focusing on one man who died soon after driving his tractor…

The Light Within

Our “mawkishness meter” went pretty high on this story, but we’re curmudgeons. It’s an effective, intimate story of devotion and faith. The two-part series was published on Christmas eve and…

A Marriage Made in Heaven?

"The archbishop’s wedding made headlines around the world," Manseau e-mailed us, "but it struck me that no one had really attempted to tell his story in a personal, engaging way.…

One Man’s Quest for Forgiveness, One Woman’s Nightmare

As part of his 12-step program, William Beebe apologizes to Liz Seccuro for the harm he caused her. He and others expect Seccuro to forgive and move on. Not surprisingly,…

The Big Game

This series was written and reported by Kevin Van Valkenburg and Lem Satterfield. It follows a cast of characters through a football season, focusing on one central game. It explores…