Karen Reed Hadalski was born in California and lived many years in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas of Pennsylvania.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) from Temple University and a Master of Arts degree in English and American Language and Letters from Boston College.  She also did post-Master studies in the Ph.D. program at Boston University where she was awarded both a scholastic scholarship and teaching fellowship.

In addition to teaching literature, research and critical thinking, and expository writing at the college, adult, and preparatory school levels, Karen served as a VISTA volunteer in an Athabascan Indian village in pre-pipeline Alaska; did research and program development for both environmental health and educational software projects; social work with abused and neglected inner-city children; and was appointed to Philadelphia’s Mayor’s Commission on Literacy where she coordinated their city-wide Family Literacy program.

Karen has traveled extensively; her most memorable adventures being:  The exploration of favorite writers’ homes and haunts in England and New England; as well as the many museums housing paintings and sculpture of favorite artists in Florence, New York City, and Paris; whale watch excursions conducted by famed naturalists and marine biologists; traveling by dogsled to a frozen, desolate region of Alaska in order to fully experience the magnificence of the Northern Lights; meandering through the Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, and Muir Woods; riding-out turbulent Caribbean waves during a tropical storm; making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where every Sunday School story and picture came to life; moving above, behind, and around Niagara Falls; and investigating the pyramids, temples, sphinx, necropolises and other ancient sites of Egypt. She still dreams of taking a “safari” trip to Africa. In addition to travel, Karen enjoys classical music and singing; nature and animals; the study of world religions, metaphysics and philosophy; and reading, especially biographies.

Her favorite literary genre is the essay and her favorite writers are Ralph Waldo Emerson and William Shakespeare.  In addition to her books, Karen has also published articles in various journals, newspapers, and magazines and authors the animal advocacy and education column, “Perspectives,” for Pet Tails Magazine. She currently lives in Virginia Beach with her husband, John, whom she met when he was a student at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, along with their two dogs, Odin & Serena, and two cats, Lily & Chance.

Album

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