Sarah J. Heim grew up in Virginia and holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Virginia. While working as a book publicist after college, she found she was more interested in writing stories than pitching them. Two years later, she completed a master’s degree in journalism at Stanford University and began work as a practicing journalist. In the intervening years she has worked as a magazine and newspaper reporter and as an editor for a public policy think tank. She also earned a second master’s degree in English Literature while working full-time at Northeastern University. She currently teaches writing at Westfield State College in Massachusetts and works as a freelance writer. Her stories have appeared in the San Jose Mercury News, San Jose Magazine, MIT’s TechnologyReview.com, Adweek, Stanford Magazine, and Science and Spirit, among others. Since the birth of her son in August 2006, Sarah has focused her writing efforts on parenting topics and her work has been accepted at Pregnancy and Parents magazines. She lives among brown bears in Western Massachusetts with her husband and son.