Author
Ada Calhoun
Birth Date
March 17, 1976
(50 Years)
Associated Country
United States
Ada Calhoun is an American author, journalist, and memoirist known for her insightful examinations of contemporary life, relationships, culture, and generational experiences. Raised in New York City's East Village, she built a career as a reporter and essayist before gaining widespread recognition as an author. Her writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times, and she is known for combining personal narrative with cultural and historical analysis.
Calhoun is the author of several acclaimed books, including St. Marks Is Dead, a history of New York City's iconic St. Mark's Place; Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give, a collection of essays on modern marriage; Why We Can't Sleep, her bestselling exploration of the challenges facing Generation X women; and Also a Poet, a memoir examining her relationship with her father, art critic Peter Schjeldahl. Her work has been praised for its honesty, wit, and ability to capture the concerns of contemporary American life.
In addition to her nonfiction, Calhoun has written fiction, including the novel Crush. Throughout her career, she has earned recognition as a perceptive observer of social and cultural change, blending rigorous reporting with deeply personal storytelling. Her books frequently explore questions of identity, family, ambition, and the ways people navigate adulthood in a rapidly changing world.
Calhoun is the author of several acclaimed books, including St. Marks Is Dead, a history of New York City's iconic St. Mark's Place; Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give, a collection of essays on modern marriage; Why We Can't Sleep, her bestselling exploration of the challenges facing Generation X women; and Also a Poet, a memoir examining her relationship with her father, art critic Peter Schjeldahl. Her work has been praised for its honesty, wit, and ability to capture the concerns of contemporary American life.
In addition to her nonfiction, Calhoun has written fiction, including the novel Crush. Throughout her career, she has earned recognition as a perceptive observer of social and cultural change, blending rigorous reporting with deeply personal storytelling. Her books frequently explore questions of identity, family, ambition, and the ways people navigate adulthood in a rapidly changing world.
Books
Crush 2025
When a husband asks his wife to consider what might be missing from their marriage, what follows surprises them both—sex, heartbreak and heart rekindling, and a rediscovered sense of all that is...
Also a Poet 2022
When Ada Calhoun stumbled upon old cassette tapes of interviews her father, celebrated art critic Peter Schjeldahl, had conducted for his never-completed biography of poet Frank O’Hara, she set out to...
Why We Can't Sleep 2020
When Ada Calhoun found herself in the throes of a midlife crisis, she thought that she had no right to complain. She was married with children and a good career. So why did she feel miserable? And why...
We hear plenty about whether or not to get married, but much less about what it takes to stay married. Clichés around marriage—eternal bliss, domestic harmony, soul mates—leave out the real stuff....
St. Marks Is Dead 2015
St. Marks Place in New York City has spawned countless artistic and political movements. Here Frank O’Hara caroused, Emma Goldman plotted, and the Velvet Underground wailed. But every generation of...
What’s the right way to parent? Any playground or online message board will supply as many opinions as there are adults. Every subject—from sleep training to time-outs to pacifiers—has its supporters...