Anne Ford

A serenity-seeker by nature, I'm a self-taught expert on finding places in the Chicago area that offer a little quiet. Having lived in areas from Hyde Park to Humboldt Park, Uptown to Evanston, I've spent more than 15 years hunting out (and basking in) the little-known pockets of peacefulness around town.

My work has appeared in AAA Living, Insight Guides: Chicago, the Chicago Tribune, Lake, Parenting, Natural Solutions, Creative Living, Crain’s Chicago Business, and the Chicago Reader, among other publications. In my previous life as a travel editor for Rand McNally, my on-the-road adventures included blowing glass, fleeing testy buffalos, and staying in an astonishing number of haunted hotels.

I received my master’s degree in religion from the University of Chicago. My life as a newly minted stepmom of three is not always peaceful, but it is always awesome.