The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, May 9-16

Many thanks to our friends at Longreads who inspire us every week.

The Last Day of Her LifeBy Robin Marantz Henig, New York Times MagazineWhen Sandy Bem found out she had Alzheimer’s, she resolved that before the disease stole her mind, she would kill herself. The question was, when?

The FriendBy Matthew Teague, EsquireHis wife was just thirty-four. They had two little girls. The cancer was everywhere, and the parts of dying that nobody talks about were about to start. His best friend came to help out for a couple weeks. And he never left.

Elon Musk’s Space Dream Almost Killed TeslaBy Ashlee Vance, Bloomberg BusinessSpaceX started with a plan to send mice to Mars. It got crazier from there.

Tested Under FireBy Alan Peppard, Dallas Morning NewsWhen Ronald Reagan was shot, Al Haig famously declared that he was “in control,” but it was the vice president from Texas who stepped calmly into the breach.

In the BeginningBy Ross Andersen, Aeon MagazineCosmology has been on a long, hot streak, racking up one imaginative and scientific triumph after another. Is it over?