Michele Weldon is an assistant professor emerita at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. A journalist for more than 35 years, her work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, and others. She is a frequent guest on radio and TV, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, NPR, and CNN. She is the author of I Closed My Eyes: Revelations of a Battered Woman; Everyman News, and Writing to Save Your Life. In her latest book, Escape Points: A Memoir (Chicago Review Press), Weldon provides an antidote to the harried single mom stereotype in this beguiling memoir of raising three sons alone in the face of cancer, an ambitious career, and the shadow of her ex-husband. Weldon describes facing her fears and failures honestly, guided by a belief in the power of staying calm, doing one’s best, and asking for help. She provides a graceful example of how a single mother, and her children, can succeed when others—neighbors, family, teachers, and in this case an incredible high school wrestling coach—step in to fill the void.
