This week's Patch Portraits was produced and edited by Sara Fay, Phillip Downie, Jacob Nelson, Joanna Schneider and Allison Williams. Check back on Mondays for the next installment.

Also showcased are Highland Park's politician of the people and Winnetka's former tanning salon pioneer.

For Jackie Pilossoph, a perfect morning begins at 5 a.m. sitting at her kitchen table with coffee, the sunrise, and her computer.

“Writing makes me feel great,” the local author shared with Patch.

Pilossoph writing career runs the gamut. From broadcast to screenplays and novels (Hook, Line and Sink Him is her most recent), the mother of two calls writing her therapy.

“I have some really good stories to tell,” she said. “If you write about what you know, it will come out from the heart and really ring true with people.”

And, like many moms, Pilossoph works hard to balance family life with her professional life. She is a Girl Scout leader for her daughter’s first grade troop, a volunteer at Westbrook School and involved with fitness programs at the Park Center.

Alongside her love for writing and her children, Pilossoph puts a love of her community high on the list, too.

“I love Glenview, I love the people, I’ve made so many friends…I don’t ever want to leave this community.”