I couldn't have foreseen all the good things that have followed my mother's death. The renewed energy, the surprising sweetness of grief. The tenderness I feel for strangers on walkers. The deeper love I have for my siblings and friends. The desire to play the mandolin. The gift of a visitation.

A. She spent five years as a Tribune national correspondent based in Atlanta. from Pomona College.

About four times a year Schmich and fellow Tribune metro columnist Eric Zorn write a week of columns that consist of a back-and-forth exchange of letters. Born in Savannah Georgia the oldest of eight children Schmich grew up in Georgia attended high school in Phoenix Arizona and earned a B. In addition to writing her column Schmich was the author of the long-lived comic strip Brenda Starr from 1985 through its final appearance in January 2011 and has worked as a professional barrelhouse and ragtime piano player.