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Even the Terrible Things Seem Beautiful to Me Now: The Best of Mary Schmich
Book by Schmich, Mary
- GenresBook ClubNonfiction
320 pages, Paperback
First published August 13, 2013
22 people are currently reading
272 people want to read
About the author
Mary Schmich
8 books39 followersMary Theresa Schmich (B.A., Pomona College) is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
The oldest of eight children, Schmich grew up in Georgia and attended high school in Phoenix, Arizona. After working in college admissions for three years and spending a year and a half in France, Schmich attended journalism school at Stanford. She has worked as a reporter at the Peninsula Times Tribune, at the Orlando Sentinel and, since 1985, at the Tribune. She spent five years as a Tribune national correspondent based in Atlanta. Her column started in 1992 and was interrupted for a year during which she attended Harvard on a Nieman Fellowship for journalists.
The oldest of eight children, Schmich grew up in Georgia and attended high school in Phoenix, Arizona. After working in college admissions for three years and spending a year and a half in France, Schmich attended journalism school at Stanford. She has worked as a reporter at the Peninsula Times Tribune, at the Orlando Sentinel and, since 1985, at the Tribune. She spent five years as a Tribune national correspondent based in Atlanta. Her column started in 1992 and was interrupted for a year during which she attended Harvard on a Nieman Fellowship for journalists.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 10, 2021
I love reading Mary Schmich’s columns in the Chicago Tribune so I picked up this book. I liked reliving the columns in the book but I read them straight through and this is the type of book that it’s probably better to dip in and out of over time. And if you’re not from Chicago you might not get all her references
December 27, 2016
I have been an avid reader of Mary's columns in the Chicago Tribune for years. I've lost count of how many I've cut out and pasted on my wall or in my journals, or underlined or written down quotes from. I treat this collection of her columns sort of like a Bible--not to read from cover to cover, but to keep by my side and page through it in times of pain, sadness, need, change, worry. I always find something to help: wisdom, understanding, beauty, inspiration. It is especially meaningful to read many of her columns as a Chicagoan who has moved away from the city and often misses it dearly. I admire Mary's ability to find beauty in so many parts of Chicago and of life.
July 14, 2025
This book's primary audience is anyone who lives or lived in Chicago or any of it's environs. It will however apply, without the specifics, to anyone who lived, lives in or near a big city. That is it's treasure and it's failure. I grew up in a northern suburb of Chicago and therefore got all the references. My story is that as soon as my age allowed it I was lucky enough to head north to a college (Carroll) and after graduation never looked back except to visit family and friends.
This book is a collection of a newspaper columnist's columns. Off the top of my mind I cannot think of a more stressful, deadline driven job. As a result these pages are full of the intimate unfolding of some of the best and worst that big city has to offer. From my experience the bad far outweighs the good. I found myself quickly paging through more and more of the dregs of that toddl'n town as they simply made me feel bad. That's not to say Schmich didn't do her best to find the humanity behind/underneath the events of the day. It is to say that what she uncovered isn't uplifting enough to be worth the read.
I applaud her effort. Her longevity in her field if nothing else demonstrates other's opinions of her writing are diametrically different from mine. My bottom line is if you want a good read about this Windy City find a book by Studs Terkel, Mike Royko, Dave Barry or Irv Kupcinet.
This book is a collection of a newspaper columnist's columns. Off the top of my mind I cannot think of a more stressful, deadline driven job. As a result these pages are full of the intimate unfolding of some of the best and worst that big city has to offer. From my experience the bad far outweighs the good. I found myself quickly paging through more and more of the dregs of that toddl'n town as they simply made me feel bad. That's not to say Schmich didn't do her best to find the humanity behind/underneath the events of the day. It is to say that what she uncovered isn't uplifting enough to be worth the read.
I applaud her effort. Her longevity in her field if nothing else demonstrates other's opinions of her writing are diametrically different from mine. My bottom line is if you want a good read about this Windy City find a book by Studs Terkel, Mike Royko, Dave Barry or Irv Kupcinet.
August 8, 2022
4.5 stars. Always loved her column in the Trib. This collection of essays and past columns was the perfect combination of personal stories (some very personal), commentary on everyday life as well as society, and then hard hitting journalism. I remember reading many of these columns years ago, but having them bound in a book made it even better. I read the updated edition which had more recent stories and done follow up on earlier columns. I’m sure this was especially appealing to me because it’s Chicago based, of course!
August 12, 2018
A great collection of Mary Schmich’s columns from the Chicago Tribune. I especially love the column titled Wear Sunscreen”:that was published as a short book. “The race is long but in the end it is only with yourself”. The title of the book came from something her mother said to her: “ you have to be old to appreciate the beauty of your life. Even the terrible things seem beautiful to me now.”
Want to read
February 28, 2022Abandoned for now, but I will dip in and out occasionally. I greatly admire Mary Schmich's writing and points of view on issues and I really miss her columns in the Chicago Tribune. Thank goodness for her posts on FaceBook!
October 15, 2019
This was a very enjoyable read and one I’m glad I saved until after I lived in Chicago for a few years. My only complaint is that the genre grouping at times helped clarify and focus and at other times made certain articles (or sections of them) feel repetitive.
July 17, 2021
I already loved Mary, but this book cemented that feeling for all time.
February 7, 2022
A beautifully written compilation of historical moments, personal revelations, and sage advice. If you enjoy reading prose or vignettes, this book will blow you away!
August 19, 2022
Good book with many great articles
September 7, 2022
Excellent writer. Most enjoyed the sections about her mother and learning about Cabrini Green. A few sections seemed unnecessary and diluted the effect of the book but still great.
April 2, 2024
I've been a fan of Mary's writing for so long. These essays feed the soul. She's still writing and posts on Facebook
June 1, 2024
The stories made me think.
November 4, 2014
Mary Schmich, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Chicago Tribune, recently published a collection of some of her most intriguing and rousing pieces: Even the Terrible Things Seem Beautiful Now. The 415-page collection of newspaper articles spans the course of over a decade of Schmich’s writing career with the Tribune and is organized thematically rather than sequentially.
The book is divided into 13 sections, each relating to a different topic, allowing the reader to zip across the field of time in order to see how the subjects Schmich often wrote about connect through the years. From columns about her mother, to personal advice, to musings on authors and writing, each section reads like a novel unto itself.
Relatable, polemical and often burgeoning with the persistent reminder that life could always be a little bit worse, Schmich’s work is animated by what is tangible and true. Capturing the lives of families from Cabrini Green in the wake of the neighborhood’s destruction, or following in the shadow of Joan Lefkow in the aftermath of her husband’s and mother’s murders, Schmich has the inimitable ability to remove herself from a scene in such a way that the reader feels transposed in her stead.
Though not all of her pieces are as heavy as those described above, they are all dripping with the succulence of a story perfectly ripe for telling. Some are lighthearted, some are thought provoking and some are just plain funny, but each of her pieces is a beautifully composed chronicle of humanity.
http://chicagoist.com/2014/07/25/even...
The book is divided into 13 sections, each relating to a different topic, allowing the reader to zip across the field of time in order to see how the subjects Schmich often wrote about connect through the years. From columns about her mother, to personal advice, to musings on authors and writing, each section reads like a novel unto itself.
Relatable, polemical and often burgeoning with the persistent reminder that life could always be a little bit worse, Schmich’s work is animated by what is tangible and true. Capturing the lives of families from Cabrini Green in the wake of the neighborhood’s destruction, or following in the shadow of Joan Lefkow in the aftermath of her husband’s and mother’s murders, Schmich has the inimitable ability to remove herself from a scene in such a way that the reader feels transposed in her stead.
Though not all of her pieces are as heavy as those described above, they are all dripping with the succulence of a story perfectly ripe for telling. Some are lighthearted, some are thought provoking and some are just plain funny, but each of her pieces is a beautifully composed chronicle of humanity.
http://chicagoist.com/2014/07/25/even...
June 9, 2015
Awesome book! Mary Schmich selected her favorite columns from the Chicago Tribune. They focused on a variety of topics that all relate to life in Chicago. Very thought provoking and close to the heart. I especially liked her personal stories and the columns that were about Judge Lefkow. I took my time reading this so that I could process and absorb all the things that this author had to share. Excellent!
March 20, 2016
Some parts of it very ho-hum, others very good. I like her musings on everyday life. I was most touched reading about the young boy who fell in the Chicago River and drowned, and was missing for about a week. I remember that story well, my heart really hurt for his family after reading Mary's article on the situation. The Joan Lefkow section was very intriguing and well written.
August 4, 2016
I've long enjoyed Mary Schmich's writing in the Tribune, and thoroughly enjoyed this collection of columns. It's well organized into themes (Mothers, Travel, Holidays, others), with taut yet expansive prose that leaves you wanting more - and mulling over what you just read.
I savored this collection over a couple months, reading a handful of essays/columns at a time - yet always wanting more.
I savored this collection over a couple months, reading a handful of essays/columns at a time - yet always wanting more.
September 15, 2014
Great book although it's tough to read such short essays one right after another. Being from Chicago made this book all the more special to me as I remember so many of the things she wrote about from the past, good and bad. I recommend this book for sure.
June 19, 2016
Mary Schmich is one of my favorite writers. Her prose is simple but meaningful. She inspires my own writing. How mind-boggling is it to have a book published in which you've included your Pulitzer Prize winning columns? That's "columns" with an "s." I read her thoughts and I am enriched.
January 26, 2015
I've always found Mary Schmich's writing comforting, optimistic, even when she's describing "terrible things:" Anytime I want to feel better about the world, I flip through this book.
December 8, 2016
Loved and shared with so many. Like reading what I wish I'd gotten to daily in the Trib all at once. Thanks to my friend that recommended!
May 23, 2018
Being a mom of two small children, I rarely have time to sit and read the way I used to. This collection of columns was perfect for me to enjoy daily! I love Mary Schmich and was moved by many of her thought-provoking words. There is so much to take from the writing, it's beautiful. I highly recommend this book to anyone!
Read
July 18, 2018If I had the time to read this a few articles at a time, I would have really enjoyed this book. However, I tried to plow through it for a book club, which did not work for me. This book is meant to be read one section or a few articles at a time, leaving time to reflect on the message of each piece.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews