Customer Reviews

Life Happens: And Other Unavoidable Truths

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Five FASCINATING Stars! "Life Happens" is wonderful! 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner Connie Schultz reveals herself as a remarkable observer and AWESOME writer who genuinely cares about her subjects. This is a series of essays written for her Cleveland Plain Dealer Sunday Magazine columns caught up in one highly entertaining book. Quite simply, it's 301 total pages that run the gamut of emotions from happiness to sadness to exhilaration to the edge of tears and back, generally tracing the trajectory of her life, loves, and encounters over the years. It details her journey of 20 years as a reporter before becoming a famous award-winning columnist. I had planned on passing on this book as probably a female-only "The View" type of book. Wrong! There is alot of emotionalism and vulnerability on full display, which may make some of us men a tad uncomfortable, but hang in there, guys, it's worth it. The reviews lured me in with some topics that go beyond 'female gossip', even one directed specifically at men (yes, the one about the 'F" word: No, not that word!): this is engrossing, didactic stuff for men and women. Most of these stories can be gobbled up quickly, but they stay in the mind for a long time.

Stories abound and my favorites are: the ambiguity of her parent's feelings about the job that gave their family the money for food and shelter, while de-humanizing the father; the double jolting and chilling "Tell Everyone" story; then there's the cancer patient; the stork with a broken wing; the two mothers; the Holocaust survivor who gets a surprise; the ice-bound car; the Buddhist's lesson; "The Funny Book" (the October 1988 entry will pull at your heartstrings.); the hilarious story of the traitorous cat; ubiquitous cell phones; Connie-saurous rex; spawns of Hurricane Katrina; Iraqi war stories, especially the touching Tim Gaydosh story; letting go of a teenager; and many more. Most of this I agree with but, in cases where I don't (almost an entire chapter of the book), it's still very compelling reading. It seems, however, she's at her very best when simply telling a riveting story, less so when defending certain issues. But she is a fighter and you would do well to have her on your side of an issue. Either way this book will pin you to a chair for a long time. She says everyone has at least ONE good story, well, she has MANY engrossing stories which she frequently displays to a hungry audience in Cleveland: lucky people. This book describes the life that Connie Schutz is actually living and it's fascinating, humorous, poignant, and very entertaining. Husband, U. S. Senator Sherrod Brown, is a fortunate man. In many ways they are living the American Dream to it's fullest extent as shown in these pages. Thank you, Connie Schultz, for opening your life to the world. My Highest Recommendation! Five WONDERFUL Stars.

(Note: This review is based on an unabridged EBook Digital Download.)

I was recommended this book by Schultz's husband, Congressman Sherrod Brown of Ohio. I can't believe that I'd never read her columns in the Cleveland Plain Dealer! This book is a gentle reminder of how wonderful and heartbreaking life can be. The only downfall? Sometimes the short (two-page) essays leave you wanting more, because they are so good. Schultz and I don't agree on all of her viewpoints, but I feel I'm a better person for reading them, and as a small-town Presybterian raised in a working class family in Ohio, I can relate to her upbringing and outlook on life. Go get 'em, Connie! We could use YOU in Washington, DC!

Connie Schultz is an intelligent, compassionate columnist. Her pieces are about everyday life--moments both of grace and disappointment. She is both a realist and incredibly positive, writing and capturing well experiences we all undergo and what they say about us all. The book moves by fast (it is a collection of her old columns), but slow enough so that you can treasure each lesson the column imparts. This should really be required reading everywhere--if we all had Schultz's ability to observe, the world would be a much better place.

This is a series of newspaper columns grouped by theme. It is the kind of book you can read a little of everyday. The author uses her wit to produce short pieces that move you and stick with you. I even managed to get my 18 year old son to read an entire section to help with a school paper.He greatly appreciated her use of humor a controversial issue.

This is a collection of 95 quick-read essays by Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist, Connie Schultz, assembled under such headings like "Do Write Woman" and "Life Happens." The owner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize, Schultz has long insisted that she champions society's downtrodden working class (read "Blue Collar Blues"), but in the same breath emits her own contempt for the US's "red states."
Largely a liberal rant, Life Happens is admittedly at its best when taking on corporate America. Schultz is known to include names and title of "offenders"--typically upper management types. She is now the darling of all Cleveland waitreses, coat-checkers and airline staffers for famously doing just this very thing.
"Cringe moments" are frequent, though, like when bleeding-heart moments threaten to bring a tear to her eye; unfortunately, Schultz holds sway to a certain naivete that is the downfall of American liberalism. God forbid new hubby, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) share these same sentiments.
Both claim to champion the underdog yet they function in a corporate world of its' own. Schultz, still employed by the Plain Dealer, and Senator Brown live in tony Avon Lake, Ohio and circulate among Cleveland's liberal elite.
Don't be fooled.

A collection of some the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer's columns that originally appeared in the pages of The Plain Dealer. Concise, witty and insightful, these will appeal especially to those of a more liberal political bent as well as to the "man/woman in the street." Highly recommednded.