"We gave him some of our deepest, darkest secrets, " said Ms. Lynn, 19.

WSJ: A Bronx Tale Unlike the One Hollywood Tells

It's perfectly possible to get sober without attending meetings and pouring out your darkest secrets to a group of strangers.

WSJ: My Secret to Getting Sober

We spoke to him about his own fashion choices ("comfortable"), favorite endurance sports (reading Proust) and darkest secrets (well, it's a chair fetish, and currently under control).

WSJ: 20 Odd Questions for Architect Stephan Jaklitsch

But to delve into the particulars of his life is to know that he was no less closely acquainted with the deepest, darkest secrets of the human soul.

WSJ: Benjamin Britten | Known but Not Loved | Sightings by Terry Teachout