Here's what we're doing today, ready?

But we did.

I'm going to do an episode of revisionist history in which I'm obsessed with hiring,

I've always been obsessed with that.

So what I'm doing is I'm interviewing all the people I ever hired and you, you're the first

person I've hired.

I wear that badge pretty proudly, let's say you would.

Stacey Kaelish, my first assistant, I'd never had an assistant before, but maybe 15 years

ago, right after publishing my second book, I realized I was spending all my time answering

emails and booking travel instead of writing.

So I decided I needed some help.

I didn't remember the circumstances under which you came to work for me, so I thought I

would just ask you.

Remind me again how I found you.

A big theme of what follows is that I have no memory, names, faces, dates, I basically

forget everything.

A normal person doesn't have to do research on their own life, but I'm afraid I do.

Okay, so I have some funny, funny memories around the whole hiring situation.

So you found me how it happened was I had just finished grad school and was looking for

a job.

Stacey knew someone, who knew someone, who had an assistant, who knew me or something

like that, very complicated.

...