Wise Men and Other Stories by Mike O’Mary

Wise Men and Other Stories is a collection of holiday-related essays that blends humor and poignancy in the tradition of Robert Fulghum, Dave Barry, Bill Bryson and other great American humorists.

This collection began with “Wise Men,” an essay about the author’s experience as a “wise man” in the St. Elizabeth Elementary Christmas play, and the lessons learned when he was asked to help another “wise man” who couldn’t remember his lines. That essay was published in newspapers across the nation and broadcast on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” program, and so began a tradition of holiday essays from Mike O’Mary.
Over the years, the essays in this collection were read as part of “Morning Edition” on Northern Illinois Public Radio, and published in the Sunday magazines of the Chicago Tribune, Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, Baltimore Sun, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Detroit Free Press and elsewhere. Along the way, O’Mary developed a cult following for his holiday stories.