Mary Schmich’s Collection of Columns Contains Something for Everyone

If you’re looking for something quick to read in between your toddler’s nap and helping your grade schooler with her spelling words, Even the Terrible Things Seem Beautiful to Me Now is a great choice.

This is a collection of columns by Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich, who was awarded the 2012 Pulitzer for Commentary in recognition of her down-to-earth descriptions of the character and culture of her city.

The book includes Schmich’s ten Pulitzer-winning columns along with 154 others. The columns cover a diverse array of subjects. Schmich has no children of her own, but she writes quite eloquently about her relationship with her parents and siblings.

There are also several columns covering current events, including a moving series about the journey of Joan Lefkow, a U.S. District Judge who found the bodies of her husband and her elderly mother murdered in her home in 2005. The murders were eventually determined to be the work of Bart Ross, a plaintiff in a medical malpractice case that Lefkow had dismissed.

My personal favorite column is “Wear Sunscreen.” This famed 1997 column is often incorrectly attributed to Kurt Vonnegut and was the basis for a Baz Luhrmann song. It was also part of the readings performed at my high school graduation, although I believe at the time we were one of the places that incorrectly attributed it to Vonnegut. Fortunately, her 2007 column “My Marriage to Kurt Vonnegut” reassured me that Schmich seems to have taken the misappropriation in stride and that Vonnegut himself maintained a sense of humor regarding the whole ordeal.

Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by the publisher.

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