To all of you who have ever thought: I should write a book... someday. Make 2017 the year you finally set some of those words down on...

As much as I preach to my two kids (ages 3 and 7) about the true meaning of Christmas, I know it’s futile. To a kid, the holidays are all...

If you're gathering with family or friends tomorrow, take a break from the turkey and stuffing, the football, and the wine, to practice...

This week has brought joys so high I’ve felt like I was riding on a cloud, and then moments so painful I felt I might never stop crying....

It was 1990 at Daniel Wright Middle School in Lincolnshire, a sleepy suburb of Chicago. I’m in 8th grade and hopelessly one of the...

Three Things I Learned from Amy Poehler's Yes Please HarperCollins, $28.99, ISBN 978-0-06-226834-1, 2014 1. Poehler's insider scoop on...

Three Things I Learned from Jim Gaffigan’s Food: A Love Story Crown Archetype, $26.00, ISBN 978-0-8041-4041-6, 2014 1. If you read only...

Here is the fourth story in my Northwest Side Hero Project, highlighting stories about local heroes (as nominated by their neighbors),...

This past summer I made a promotional video with help from Kelly Luchtman and her team at Snap! Web Video. Like many other good ideas, it...

I’m approaching the midpoint of my life (at least, let’s hope) and by now, I should have a lot of stuff figured out. I’ve survived job...

Three Things I Learned from Augustyn Burrough’s Dry Picador, $14 ISBN 0-312-42379-9 Burrough’s misadventures in drinking and trying to...

The world lost a great man a few weeks ago: my godfather and pseudo-uncle Bob “Butch” Kalchbrenner. He and his wife Gloria are those...

This is the third story in my Northwest Side Hero Project, highlighting extraordinary people nominated by their neighbors as local...

Three Things I Learned from Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation Random House, $24, ISBN 1-4000-6314-0 Reading about the patriotism and...

I often struggle to answer the basic question,“What do you do?” Sometimes I say, “Writer.” But I should really say, “Editor.” The amount...

Summer brings relaxed schedules, later bedtimes, and the smell of aloe vera in the house. While I enjoy the extra time with family, I...

Grief is a natural part of life, but it doesn’t lessen the impact that these moments have on us. This year has brought many great things,...