Terry Gross

Psychologist and family therapist Dr. Dan Gottlieb's new book Letters to Sam is a collection of lessons on life he wrote to his grandson. Two decades ago, Gottlieb became a quadriplegic in an automobile accident. His grandson is autistic, and the letters have lessons about what it's like to be different.

Filmmaker Liz Mermin's new documentary, The Beauty Academy of Kabul, is about a group of American hairdressers who open a beauty school in Afghanistan to teach local women how to cut hair and apply make-up, thus making them financially independent.

Craig Ferguson hosts CBS's Late Late Show, which should give him a fairly good vantage point from which to poke fun at pop culture and the entertainment industry. He has pounced on the opportunity with his novel, Between the Bridge and the River.