In 1980 I was a gun-toting, chain-smoking, bourbon swilling, diehard Ronald Reagan supporter. I got my whole family to vote for him. But when I got into the polling booth, I pulled the trigger for Jimmy Carter. I was surprised, shocked, and not a little embarrassed, but in my heart of hearts I understood he was the better man. Whether …

(Reprinted from The New York Journal of Books) Ex-cop and newly recovered addict Maggie Terry is utterly shattered when we meet her on the first day of her new job as detective at a small law firm. Maggie is desperate to rebuild herself, yet despite 18 months of rehab, she isn’t prepared for life outside a halfway house. Her apartment …