Wrecking Crews: Remembering John Albert and his lost generation

Originally published in the Los Angeles Review of Books. By JOE DONNELLY I REMEMBER WHEN my relationship dynamic with the late writer John Albert went from being friendly acquaintances to something like the hipster Honeymooners. It was when my then-wife and I moved into a house up the street from John and his then-wife. It […]

The Passionate Conversationalist: On Scott Timberg’s “Boom Times for the End of the World”

Originally published in the Los Angeles Review of Books. By JOE DONNELLY ALTHOUGH IT RIGHTFULLY should be read as a celebration of his life and work, for those who knew and loved Scott Timberg, or just appreciated what he did and stood for, there is no separating Boom Times for the End of the World […]

God of Sperm: Cappy Rothman’s Life in Conception

By JOE DONNELLY with CAPPY ROTHMAN God of Sperm: Cappy Rothman’s Life in Conception is available now. “Dr. Cappy Rothman’s career is without parallel in modern medicine. Do you know any physician who actually started a brand new medical specialty, has been responsible for bringing a quarter million babies into the world to parents who […]

It’s here! So Cal: Dispatches from the End of the World

So Cal: Dispatches from the End of the World is available now. The new collection is a wide-ranging survey of Southern California-centric characters, capers and aesthetics. The thing about Joe is he’s so busy championing his friends, it’s easy to forget what a great writer he is. Reading through the pieces that follow, I was […]

First-Time Dad at 50: Into In Vitro

Column 10 – Seeking two more footprints in the sand

First-Time Dad at 50: Sperm Grade

Column 9 – Test results and the shape of things to come

First-time Dad at 50: Planned parenthood

Column 8 – Misadventures at the male fertility clinic

First-time Dad at 50: Hello, wife

Column 7 – Something else was born before the day our baby came into my life

First-Time Dad at 50: A rock and a hard place

Column 6 – The only thing more lonesome than a Thanksgiving alone is dating after divorce.

First-Time Dad at 50: Learning to fly

Column 5 – It’s one step up, two back, one sideways and, if you try hard, three steps forward.