In today’s episode, we meet author Frank Morelli, a middle school teacher whose writing talent led him to write his well-received debut novel, “No Sad Songs,” about a teenager forced by the death of his parents to look after a grandfather suffering severe dementia.

In addition to reading and discussing “No Sad Songs,” Frank discusses his essay about the death of his grandfather and introduces us to the first book in his recently published middle grade series, “Please Return to: Norbert M. Finkelstein.”

We start first with a reading from an early chapter in “No Sad Songs,” entitled “How to Find Yourself Alone.”