Chapman, Fern Schumer 1954-

PERSONAL:

Born November 29, 1954, in Chicago, IL; daughter of William (a surgeon) and Edith (a nurse) Schumer; children: Ross, Keith, Isabelle. Education: University of Wisconsin—Madison, B.A.; Northwestern University, M.S. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, walking.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Lake Bluff, IL 60044. Agent—Marian Young, Young Agency, 156 5th Ave., New York, NY 10010. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Bern's Bureau (news service), correspondent, 1977-78; Forbes, Washington correspondent, 1978-80; Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, staff reporter, 1980-84; freelance writer, 1984—. Northwestern University, teacher of magazine writing seminars at Medill School of Journalism, beginning 1990; consultant to Morningstar.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Fellow at School of Public Health, Harvard University, 1985; named Illinois author of the year, 2004.

WRITINGS:

Motherland: Beyond the Holocaust—A Daughter's Journey to Reclaim the Past, Viking Penguin (New York, NY), 2000.

Contributor of articles and reviews to periodicals, including USA Today, Fortune, U.S. News & World Report, Parenting, Savvy Woman, North Shore, Chicago Tribune, and Reason.

ADAPTATIONS:

Motherland was sold as a film option to Hallmark Entertainment.

SIDELIGHTS:

Fern Schumer Chapman once told CA: "Motherland: Beyond the Holocaust—A Daughter's Journey to Reclaim the Past is the story of an evolving relationship between a mother and daughter. It captures how the past shapes us. I think in your forties you hit a developmental stage after you have had children. You gain some understanding of your own parents; I could look at my mother more objectively and see why she was who she was. I see the book as a coming-of-age story of a forty-year-old."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 12, 2000, review of Motherland: Beyond the Holocaust—A Daughter's Journey to Reclaim the Past.

Chicago Tribune, April 2, 2000, review of Motherland.

Greensboro News & Record, April 30, 2000, review of Motherland.

Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2000, review of Motherland.

Library Journal, March 1, 2000, Jill Jaracz, review of Motherland.

North Shore, April, 2000, Lisa Song, "The Half-Life of the Holocaust," pp. 32-35.

Publishers Weekly, January 1, 2000, review of Motherland.

ONLINE

Fern Schumer Home Page,http://www.fernschumerchapman.com (April 23, 2008).