“There are no moments more painful for a parent than those in which you contemplate your child's perfect innocence of some imminent pain, misfortune, or sorrow. That innocence (like every kind of innocence children have) is rooted in their trust of you, one that you will shortly be obliged to betray; whether it is fair or not, whether you can help it or not, you are always the ultimate guarantor or destroyer of that innocence.”

American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer

Michael Chabon is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. He was born in Washington, D.C., and is known for fiction and essays that have made him a prominent contemporary literary voice. He studied first at Carnegie Mellon University and then at the University of Pittsburgh, where he graduated in 1984. He later earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of California, Irvine. His work spans novels, screenwriting, columns, and short fiction.