Tracey O’Shaughnessy may not be a household name…yet. But to her loyal readers in Connecticut, and throughout New England, she is a shared and treasured secret who bears comparisons with Anna Quindlen, Anne Tyler and her beloved Jane Austen. Every Little Thing is a collection of some of her finest essays and stories written for the Waterbury Republican-American, for which she has been writing since 1992.

Her “Sunday Reflections” column—many installments of which appear in this volume—was singled out for the prestigious Wilbur Award by the Religion Communicators Council in both 2001 and 2003; and earned awards in 2005 and 2006 for Best Opinion Writing on Religion Award from the American Academy of Religion. She has won a Clarion Award for her writing on women, and her work has also won numerous top honors from the New England Associated Press News Executives. Most recently, she received the 2008 Missouri Lifestyle Journalism Award.

A native of Massachusetts, O'Shaughnessy is a graduate of Wesleyan and American universities. She has also studied both writing and theology at Georgetown University. Her freelance work has appeared in Connecticut Magazine, the Washington Post and Wesleyan Magazine.