The Best American Essays 2006\"The essays in this volume are powerful, plainspoken meditations on birthing, dying, and all the business in between,\" writes Lauren Slater in her introduction to the 2006 edition. \"They reflect the best of what we, as a singular species, have to offer, which is reflection in a context of kindness. The essays tell hard won tales wrestled sometimes from great pain.\" The twenty powerful essays in this volume are culled from periodicals ranging from

Like the father of the modern thriller

and open to adventure

It does so in a spirit of fun

dragons and Dwarves

and why water fights are a very bad idea for your new best friend

fast-paced epic

Hachumak reveals his own path to becoming a shaman and explains how a well-crafted Ayahuasca ceremony unfolds when run by an experienced curandero

As she and Lesser prepare for the inevitable

But this newfound hedonism—drugs and sex and endless parties—distracts from strange realities of everyday life: Intelligent automata taking jobs

The Confirmation Bias: Learn why our brains are wired to reject facts that contradict our beliefs and how this universal human behavior shapes our decisions

the battle to save King’s Wonderland unfolds in one of the world’s most iconic and magical locations

Baggage-free (no previous marriages