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June 20, 2026 
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It’s Father’s Day weekend, and to mark the occasion, I’m including two lovely personal essays by dads in this edition. W. Blake Martin, a clinical psychologist, writes for Modern Love about falling in love with his young son while being both a doctor and a patient — he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis the day after he found out he would be a father. And the novelist Gary Shteyngart, who immigrated to the U.S. from the Soviet Union decades ago, shares what it was like to visit Thomas Jefferson’s residence on a recent trip with his American-born history-buff 12-year-old. “Monticello is the key to America and America will break your heart,” he begins.
Everyone’s parents have their own stories to tell. Over on the Well desk, my colleagues have 25 questions to get to know your dad or father figure better, if you are able to ask them. (They also have questions for moms.) Those are below, along with the best TV shows of 2026 so far and a seven-story basket up for sale. I’ll see you next weekend(er).
— Farah
Join the conversation
Veronica Chambers, an editor for the Travel desk, shared what she found particularly powerful about this essay in the comments, where you can see how others are reacting, too.
 | Veronica Chambers Lead Editor, Projects and Collaborations | I’m an editor on the Travel desk, working on our Revolutionary Journeys series. I really wanted to have a writer who was an immigrant write about taking their American-born kid on a classic history focused road trip. I was thrilled when Gary Shteyngart took this assignment on. Gary was born in the Soviet Union and grew up in Queens in the 1980s. Like his 12-year-old son, he is passionate about history.
One of the powerful elements of this piece for me is hearing his son — who is studying Jefferson — talk about both the founding of this nation and the challenges we currently face. |
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This edition of The Weekender was edited by Farah Miller and Kellina Moore. Reach our team at weekender@nytimes.com.
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