Randi Forrest

Randi Forrest, who was among the winners of the Chicago Sun-Times’ Chicago’s Next Voices competition, is a guest columnist. She raised her family on the Northwest Side before moving to Mount Prospect. “Life can be uncomfortable, and people are so afraid to talk about things we all have in common, especially getting old and the things we have to go through,” says Forrest, who’s in her 60s. “People who are my age might enjoy reading about these things and saying, ‘Oh, my God, here’s someone willing to talk about it.’ It’s not taboo. It’s OK to talk about it.”