Lori Borgman is a newspaper columnist, author and speaker. Her newspaper column touches on a wide array of topics ranging from the truth about nagging to the hazards of upper arm flab. She also is the author of the popular essay, “The Death of Common Sense” which has gone viral, having been published in the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Australia, Ireland, Finland, Iceland, Portugal, Spain, the Philippines and Greece.
Her column is distributed to more than 400 papers and media outlets throughout the United States and Canada.
She is the author of seven books, including the humor books, “I Was a Better Mother Before I Had Kids,” “All Stressed Up and No Place to Go,” “My Memory is Shot; All I Retain Now is Water” and her humorous holiday novel “Catching Christmas.” She has also written a gentle book on passing the faith to the next generation titled, “Pass the Faith, Please.” Lori may be best known for her small but cheeky book, “The Death of Common Sense and Those Who Knew Him” based on her obituary for Common Sense. Her latest book, “What Happens at Grandma’s Stays at Grandma’s” was released March 2021.
Lori is a frequent speaker at author lecture series, libraries, church groups and civic groups. She counts two of her greatest privileges to include addressing a Spouses of Congress event at the U.S. Capitol and delivering the commencement address to college graduates at the Indiana Women’s Prison.
Lori and her husband, also a journalist, live in Indianapolis. They have three children (one son and two daughters), a delightful daughter-in-law, and two classy sons-in-law. It is only by virtue of strong self-discipline that she has not dictated that this website be plastered with pictures of their eleven adorable grandchildren.
and with Lori
Q. How did you start writing?
A. I finished two sequences at the University of Missouri School of Journalism – news-editorial writing and photojournalism. I worked as a shooter for The Fargo Forum and then the Eugene Register-Guard (Oregon). I was privileged to cover several presidential campaigns and incredible events in the Pacific NW — the explosion of Mt. St. Helen’s and the beaching of 39 sperm whales on the Oregon coast. I enjoyed being on the street, covering hard news and feature assignments, but still wrote occasionally. I stayed home after we started our family and began writing even more. I landed a columnist spot with the Indianapolis Star and soon after my column was picked up for national distribution.
Q. Is it true you were Poet of the Year?
A. Yes, I was voted Poet of the Year by my classmates at Boone Elementary School in Kansas City, Missouri. On Mondays, students could read a poem they had written to the class. Often I was the only one who had written a poem, so the competition wasn’t exactly terrible. The one poem I remember writing (about a trip to the zoo) ended like this . . . “There was a commotion in that cage like no other, because the cage contained my little brother.”
Q. What is your earliest memory?
A. Riding my red tricycle with handlebars shaped like airplane wings on the sidewalk in our backyard in Lincoln, Nebraska, coming to the end of it and wishing there were more.
Q. Why is family such a passion of yours?
A. Because the family is the single most important social and economic building block in any culture. We can never be stronger as a whole than we are as our parts.
Q. Of the books you’ve written, which is your favorite?
A. I’d sooner choose a favorite child.
Q. Did you come from a big family?
A. Size or number? There were four of us, Mom, Dad my brother and me. Mom and Dad were average height, my brother is 6′ tall and I’m short. I come from a big extended family – 47 first cousins. They come in all sizes.
Q. What is your favorite board game?
A. Scrabbel, becoz it has mayd me a better spellir.
Q. Where did you meet your husband?
A. At the University of Missouri School of Journalism. We met in the darkroom to see what would develop. (You have to be over 40 to get that one.)
Q. If you were an animal, what kind would you be?
A. A dead one. I don’t do well without food and shelter.
Q. How do you relax?
A. Reading, walking, gardening, cooking, dinner with family and friends.
Q. Which is harder to raise – girls or boys?
A. Depends on the girls and boys.
Q. What do you hope to achieve with your column?
A. I’d like readers to know that a family that works reasonably well is a great blessing – and that a family can drive you crazy.