Jennifer Senior
Staff writer at The Atlantic and winner of the 2022 Pulitzer for Feature Writing
Heidi Stevens
Chicago-based writer and Director of External Affairs for the University of Chicago’s TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health
On Grief: Love, Loss, Memory
BONUS BOOK GIVEAWAY! FAN is giving away copies of On Grief to guests randomly selected from the Zoom attendance report. All details on the webinar registration page.
When Bobby McIlvaine died in the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, his loved ones spun off in radically different directions, each mourning in his or her own distinct—and often highly idiosyncratic—way. Twenty years later, Jennifer Senior, a family friend and award-winning reporter, revisits the McIlvaines, examines their present lives, and contemplates what grief really means, in all its jagged complexity. An unflinching essay on mourning and recovery in the wake of an inconceivable tragedy, Senior’s 2022 Pulitzer Prize-winning feature On Grief: Love, Loss, Memory is now published as an Atlantic Edition, a line of books featuring long-form journalism by Atlantic writers, drawn from contemporary articles or classic storytelling from the magazine’s 165-year archive.
Prior to joining the Atlantic as a staff writer, Senior (FAN ’14) spent five years at The New York Times—first as one of its three daily book critics, then as a columnist for the Opinion page. Before that, she spent eighteen years as a staff writer for New York Magazine, writing profiles and cover stories about politics, social science, and mental health. Her book, All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood, spent eight weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list and was named one of Slate’s Top 10 Books of 2014. In addition to the Pulitzer, Senior has won a variety of journalism prizes, including a National Magazine award, a GLAAD award, two Front Page Awards from the Newswomen’s Club of New York, and the Erikson Prize in Mental Health Media.
Senior will be in conversation with Heidi Stevens, Director of External Affairs for the University of Chicago’s TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health. Prior to joining TMW, Stevens worked at the Chicago Tribune for 23 years, where she wrote a daily column called “Balancing Act.” She maintains a weekly nationally syndicated column. She also serves as a FAN board member.
This event suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded and available on FAN’s website and YouTube channel.
Event Sponsors
- Baker Demonstration School
- Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School
- Catherine Cook School
- Chicago Jewish Day School
- Compass Health Center
- Countryside Day School
- Evanston Township High School D202
- Family Service Center
- Glencoe D35
- Gorton Center
- Haven Youth and Family Services
- Hyde Park Day School
- Kenilworth D38
- Lake Forest Community High School D115
- Lake Forest Country Day School
- Lake Michigan Association of Independent Schools
- Leo Catholic High School
- Magnetar Capital
- Mindful Psychology Associates PC
- Morgan Park Academy
- North Shore Country Day
- Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy
- Rebel Human
- Regina Dominican College Preparatory High School
- Resurrection College Prep High School
- Roycemore School
- Science & Arts Academy
- Stevenson High School D125
- The Family Institute at Northwestern University
- The Frances Xavier Warde School
- University of Chicago Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice
- University of Chicago Laboratory Schools Parents’ Association
- Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District
- Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart
Upcoming Events
The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports
Nicholas Thompson
CEO of The Atlantic
David Epstein
Science writer and best-selling author
ON ZOOM
Hold These Truths: A Table Reading
Joel de la Fuente
Award-winning stage and screen actor
Jeanne Sakata
Award-winning actor and playwright
Lisa Doi, Ph.D.
Assistant curator and project manager at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles
North Shore Country Day Auditorium
Note: Event start time is Central Time (CT).
NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED.

Parenting Anxiety: Breaking the Cycle of Worry and Raising Resilient Kids
Meredith Elkins, Ph.D.
Clinical psychologist, faculty member of Harvard Medical School, and co–program director, McLean Anxiety Mastery Program, McLean Hospital
Rebecca Jenkins
Superintendent of Libertyville School District 70 in Libertyville, IL
ON ZOOM


