Jacquelyn Mitchard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jacquelyn Mitchard (b. 1955, Chicago) is author of the best-selling novel The Deep End of the Ocean, which was the first selection for the Oprah Winfrey book club. Other books by Mitchard include The Breakdown Lane, Twelve Times Blessed, Christmas, Present, A Theory of Relativity, The Most Wanted, The Breakdown Lane, and Cage of Stars.

Born and raised in Chicago, Mitchard is the daughter of a plumber and a retail clerk. She became a newspaper reporter in 1976, eventually achieving a position as lifestyle columnist for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel newspaper. Her weekly column, The Rest of Us, is now nationally syndicated by Tribune Media. She is also a contributing editor for Wondertime Magazine.

With husband Chris Brent and seven children, Mitchard lives south of Madison, Wisconsin. She is active in causes that include prevention of colorectal cancer, which killed her first husband, reporter Dan Allegretti, in 1993, and finding a cure for multiple sclerosis, which has affected her best friend since childhood.