Blake Bailey writes biographies about writers. He’s written about John Cheever, Richard Yates, and Charles Jackson, and now he’s working on Philip Roth. Blake also wrote a memoir about his own troubled family life growing up in Oklahoma City. It’s called The Splendid Things We Planned: A Family Portrait.

Here, Blake reflects on the life of his promising, violent, and charismatic older brother, Scott.

Music
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, cover by The Bad Plus
“Moving Through Time” by Angelo Badalamenti
“The Pine Float” by Angelo Badalamenti
“Smells Like Teen Spirit”, cover by The Bad Plus
“I’m Hurt Bad” by Angelo Badalamenti
“Yesterday, When I Was Young”, by Roy Clark