NPR's Book of the Day: "In 'Twice Born,' a Daughter Discovers Her Father Through His Biography of Mark Twain"
Host: Andrew Limbong (Intro)
Interviewer: Tiziana Dearing (Here & Now)
Guest: Hester Kaplan, author
Date: January 7, 2026
Episode Overview
This episode centers on Hester Kaplan and her memoir, "Twice Born: Finding My Father in the Margins of Biography," which details her journey to understand her father, Justin Kaplan—a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer—by reading his seminal biography of Mark Twain. Through a moving conversation, Kaplan explores the emotional distance in her relationship with her father, the inherited complexities of grief, and how literature became both a bridge and a barrier between them.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Turning Point: Encounter at the Crematorium
- [02:13–03:25]
- Kaplan begins her book at her father's cremation, a moment she describes as pivotal in her decision to write the memoir.
- She notes her father's extreme privacy and how, in life, it was hard to make eye contact with him:
"My father was a very private and hidden man...it was very hard for us to make eye contact." – Hester Kaplan [02:33]
- At the crematorium, she finally feels able to "gaze" at him, symbolizing a deeper quest to see and understand him.
2. Literary Lineage and the Elusiveness of the Father
- [03:44–05:18]
- Kaplan was raised surrounded by literary figures (David McCullough, Annie Dillard, John Updike) and by parents whose identities were inextricably linked to their writing.
- She avoided reading her father’s work while he was alive:
"I had never read any of his work until he died." – Hester Kaplan [04:16]
- She perceived the writer and the work as fused, making it daunting to confront her father directly through his writing.
3. Reading Her Father Through Mark Twain
- [05:18–05:58]
- Kaplan describes using her father's biography of Mark Twain as a mirror—finding her father by analyzing the choices he made as a writer about Twain.
- Grappled with feeling unauthorized:
"I was looking to find these kind of convergences or parallels between my father's life and Twain's life...I was very conscious of the decisions that he made in choosing how to write about Twain and how that might reflect on who he was." – Hester Kaplan [05:58]
4. The Study: Presence and Absence at Home
- [06:30–07:42]
- Despite being physically present and engaged in activities (cooking, playing), Justin Kaplan was emotionally distant, retreating to his study, an "inner sanctum."
-
"He was very there physically and activity wise. But as soon as it got sort of emotional, he would disappear and disappear into his study." – Hester Kaplan [06:58]
5. Intergenerational Experience with Fathers
- [07:42–08:12]
- Dearing notes that many listeners might relate to this kind of emotionally-distant fatherhood as universal, but Kaplan cautions against simplification—her father's behavior was rooted in personal history.
6. Layers of Loss & Silence in the Family
- [08:42–09:52]
- Justin Kaplan lost both his parents by age 13 and never spoke of them.
- Hester learns, by accident, she named her son after her grandfather—and her father never acknowledged it:
"I did not know. ...when he heard...that I was naming my child Tobias, he didn’t say anything." – Hester Kaplan [09:30]
7. Grief, Loneliness, and Biography as Connection
- [09:52–11:03]
- Kaplan reflects on how both her and her father’s lives were tinged by unspoken grief.
- Quoting Justin Kaplan:
"Biography is an antidote to loneliness and a restorative of solitude." – Hester Kaplan [10:36]
- Writing the memoir allowed Hester to alleviate inherited grief and transform loneliness into peaceful solitude.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
-
On Seeking Connection:
"I hope that by the end of the book...he was able to look at me and I was able to look at him."
– Hester Kaplan [03:25] -
On Reading Her Father's Work After His Death:
"I think I always had a feeling that where he was the most himself was when he was writing."
– Hester Kaplan [04:46] -
On Generational Fatherhood:
"...this is how I felt about my father, that he was. He was sometimes there. He was not there, but that the emotional aspect or the sort of intimate connection with their father was...not there."
– Hester Kaplan [07:48] -
On Biography and Loneliness:
"Biography is an antidote to loneliness and a restorative of solitude."
– Hester Kaplan, quoting her father [10:36]
Important Timestamps
- 02:13 – The significance of witnessing her father's cremation
- 04:16 – First encounter with her father's published work
- 05:58 – “Unauthorized” search for her father in his Twain biography
- 06:58 – The study as metaphor for emotional boundaries
- 09:30 – Discovery of naming her son after her grandfather
- 10:36 – The link between biography, grief, and solitude
Tone & Language
The conversation is intimate, reflective, and psychologically astute, with Hester Kaplan articulating the complexities of familial relationships and inherited grief. Tiziana Dearing’s questions are empathetic, inviting, and occasionally direct, helping to surface deep personal insights.
In Summary
This episode of NPR’s Book of the Day invites listeners into Hester Kaplan’s poignant investigation of her relationship with her father, Justin Kaplan. By delving into his celebrated biography of Mark Twain, she confronts the twin challenges of familial silence and personal grief, ultimately using literature as a means of connection and understanding. Anyone interested in family memoirs, literary biography, or the dynamics of parent-child relationships will find this discussion both moving and resonant.