With a journalism career spanning five decades, Brad Stutzman has spent his life chronicling the people, stories, and moments that shape communities. He began his journey in 1978 as a 19-year-old copyboy for his hometown newspaper in Binghamton, New York, before moving to Texas in 1981—a place he has called home ever since.

Stutzman has served as a reporter, opinion columnist, and editor for the Williamson County Sun and Round Rock Leader, with additional work appearing in the Temple Daily Telegram and Austin American-Statesman. Over the years, his writing has earned recognition from the Texas Press Association and its affiliates, including being named Journalist of the Year by the South Texas Press Association in 2014. He and his wife, Ellen, reside in Georgetown.

In “Melancholy Paradise 2,” Stutzman offers readers and audiences a thoughtful, humorous, and deeply human collection of reflections drawn from more than 40 years in Central Texas journalism. Whether writing about celebrities or next-door neighbors, he brings forward unique insights into the comic and the tragic, tackling topical issues and timeless questions with clarity, compassion, and wit.

The stories featured in this collection originally appeared in the Williamson County Sun and Round Rock Leader newspapers and continue Stutzman’s legacy of capturing the heart of the communities he has long served.