Occasional essays by senior Press reporter Carlene Phillips on the changes she has witnessed in Harvard and culturally as a 40-year resident. Phillips is author of A Common History: The Story of Harvard's Identity (2022) and is secretary of the Harvard Historical Society.
I just finished reading Elizabeth Strout’s “Oh William!” in which the protagonist is Lucy Barton, a fascinating character from Strout’s Olive Kitteridge books. I…